QUOTE : I once made a film about abuse, and somebody told me that I didn’t understand the subject at all. I now know exactly what she meant. It isn’t just about definable acts of terror, such as physical cruelty or demanding obedience with overt threats. It’s easy to recognise the difference between right and wrong then, even though many abused people don’t act on that knowledge. The quiet but inexorable breaking down of self-esteem is much more sinister—it’s violation of the soul. That’s what Hugo did to me.