News, sport and entertainment from the Bournemouth Echo and Dorset Echo.

Hellish fury of women scorned

From the Echo, first published Thursday 25th Jan 2001.

HELL hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Never has this phrase seemed more true as women increasingly seek revenge on unfaithful or abusive partners.

Now it seems technology is the latest weapon for vengeance - certainly in the case of one Dorset couple.

Tracey and Paul Evans from Haywards Farm Close in Verwood were thought to be lying low in a bid to patch up their marriage differences after Mrs Evans's high-profile revenge attack.

The move comes after the Echo revealed in some editions yesterday how "cheated" Mrs Evans sent an e-mail to 50 of her husband's clients "confessing" his alleged infidelity.

The e-mail, apparently "signed off" by Mr Evans, described himself to be "snivelling, cheating, lying and arrogant" and a "natural born liar". It also said he didn't "just reserve this attitude for his wife".

The first that public relations boss Mr Evans, 34, knew about it was when his mobile phone became jammed with calls during a business trip to Spain.

The e-mail was splashed across at least one national newspaper and experts estimated it could have been seen by 100,000 people after it spread like wildfire through the motoring trade and press - Mr Evans' field of work.

Richard Snale, lecturer in psychiatric nursing at Bournemouth University, identifies a number of factors which may cause women rather than men to be so spiteful.

He said: "One of the main things is that in cases where relationships have broken down there is the issue of abandonment.

"It is usually the man who leaves the house, leaving his worldly goods behind when things go wrong. Women tend to stay at the marital home.

"Because his goods are left they are vulnerable and become the focus of the women's anger and that is why the scissors tend to come out."

He added: "There is also something about the British character which says that if a fellow destroys his wife's things he is childish but the other way round and the woman becomes something of a hero making a stand - it's a laugh to voyeurs.

"There is the argument that women are more hormonally charged so des-troying something he is fond of makes her feel better. It is creeping into the workplace when female workers think they have been hard done by by their male bosses.

"There is the case of the woman, who after being sacked, sat on a photocopier and sent all her boss's major clients a 'copy' of her bum."

Roni Jones of the counselling service Relate in Dorset highlighted how emotions can run wild.

"It's incredibly hard when things go wrong with relationships and with those who come to us we try and work through the anger in a constructive way," she said.

"However, hurt can lead women to do things they would not normally do in their lives and that is when it gets destructive.

"My human instinct is to ask this woman to please approach us for help and support to help take the hurt away when she is ready to deal with it."

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