"Do I stay here and die—whether by his hands or by my own—or do I walk away, run, sprint in the middle of the night with nothing?" – Katy Longhurst

Welcome back to wo0 pod, where women refuse to be told what to wear or how to run their businesses. Hosted by Wendy Gannon (aka wo0), this podcast is part of Female Five Million—a movement created to empower women to speak up, own their space, and rebuild on their own terms.

In this episode, Wendy is joined by Katy Longhurst, the unapologetic tech innovator behind Ask Joan—a discreet safety app that allows women experiencing abuse to activate a silent panic alarm using everyday appliances like a kettle or hair straighteners.

Katy’s story is one of resilience, rage, and reinvention. After surviving years of domestic abuse, economic control, stalking, and coercive control, she used her background in IT engineering to create the tool she never had—and it’s already saving lives.

This episode is both heartbreaking and hopeful. If you’ve ever wondered what real strength looks like—this is it.

• How Ask Joan works – And why triggering a panic alarm through your kettle might just save your life
• Surviving coercive control and gaslighting – How Katy documented 169 police incidents and was still seen as a “nuisance”
• Why bones heal but psychological wounds don’t – The unseen scars of emotional abuse
• What economic abuse really looks like – How Katy’s ex racked up £45,000 debt in her name
• How a police officer changed everything – The role of DCI Oliver Tween in recognising the pattern and proving her case
• From isolation to invention – How Katy reclaimed her power through tech
• Why we need to stop saying ‘you’re so brave’ – And start holding systems accountable
• The importance of male allies – The men who backed Katy and helped bring Joan to life

Katy is a former IT engineer and founder of Ask Joan, a safety app created for people experiencing domestic abuse. Her invention uses energy surge data from common household appliances to trigger silent alerts to emergency contacts or authorities. Katy is an outspoken advocate for recognising abuse in all its forms, and is working to change how society and systems respond.

• LinkedIn: Katy Longhurst
• Email: katy.longhurst1986@outlook.com
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If you are experiencing or have experienced abuse, help is available:

• Women’s Aid – www.womensaid.org.uk
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• Refuge – www.refuge.org.uk
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• Surviving Economic Abuse – www.survivingeconomicabuse.org
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• Rights of Women –...