A WOMAN who survived years of abuse from her partner has vowed to help others.

Astyn Findlay, who last month waived her right to anonymity to speak out against her ex, said he was “ecstatic” that Lawrence Barilli was sentenced to 27 months in jail.

Barilli, of Breval Crescent, Clydebank, was convicted in October of a catalogue of abuse against Astyn, 26, and another woman.

Charges of rape were found not proven by the jury.

Astyn told the Post she planned to make the best of what happened to her and sees a change in how domestic abuse is seen by society and the justice system.

She said: “Don’t worry about the length of the sentence. Jail was his biggest fear, and look where he is now. Knowing he’s as scared as he made us, as trapped in four walls as he made us is enough for me.

“I was shocked his sentence was so long - people get a lot less for crimes more serious in nature.

“So I do believe there is a change in the attitudes towards domestic abuse and quite rightly. It’s taken victims years to even be able to gain a case for prosecution never mind gain convictions against the perpetrators.”

At the High Court in Edinburgh last week, Judge Craig Scott QC told Barilli: “You were convicted of charges which involved insidious, comprehensive and sustained physical and mental abuse over two periods covering three years in total.”

The judge said one woman had told the court that it was hard to point to a day when there was no violence and she had lived in “a constant state of despair and fear”.

The second woman had described “a catalogue of physical and emotional abuse” and said the impact of Barilli’s behaviour had been devastating and she continued to suffer nightmares.

Judge Scott pointed out that Barilli had quite properly been characterised as a bully.

Astyn told the Post: “I plan on making something out of the situation and hopefully go on to better things where I can help others in the same position.

“It’s not something I want to leave it the past because, as cliche as it is, it’s definitely made me who I am today.

“What I leave in the past is the fear, the hurt, the horrible parts of what happened and continue to go on with the knowledge, empathy and courage I gained.”

She added: “I think more people than ever are talking about all forms of abuse that happen in your very own home. More people are willing to understand that leaving isn’t as simple as it sounds.

“And there are more convictions than ever and that speaks volumes more than what I could ever say.”

It was alleged during the trial Barilli told one of his victims he had “sexsomnia” that made him pounce on her while she was asleep.

Barilli had assaulted Astyn, then just a teenager, at houses in Greenock and Gourock, in Inverclyde, between October 2008 and August 2010.

She was grabbed by the hair, punched, kicked and pinned against a wall as well as having her neck compressed.

Astyn told the court Barilli would get angry at the “smallest of things” and she was subjected to name calling such as “slut” and “scum”.

Barilli attacked the second woman, aged 35, between September 2011 and October 2012 at houses in Uddingston, in Lanarkshire, and Shettleston, in Glasgow, and at an Edinburgh hotel after meeting her through a dating website.

She was also kicked and grabbed by the hair and had her neck squeezed. She was also thrown onto a couch and pinned to a bed.

Defence counsel Tony Graham QC said: “He accepts the manner I described his behaviour in my address to the jury as ‘utterly disgusting’.”