Dee Dee Glass was born in Chicago in 1948. 24 years later, on a visit to London, she enrolled in the National Film School. During 31 years of film making, she wrote, directed and edited non-fiction and fiction films and TV programs. One of her earliest films was a documentary about residents of the United Kingdom’s first refuge for battered women. She produced more documentaries, current affairs programs, dramas and factual series for BBC, ITV and Channel 4 stations, all produced and directed by her own company, Glass Pictures. Many films focused on sexual violence, prostitution, child abuse, women’s personal safety and the policing of domestic violence. She worked as an adviser to leading academic institutions and women1/8s organizations concerning sexual violence and participated in the training of other professional and statutory agencies. In attempting to answer the question- why don’t women leave abusive men, her 1995 book “All My Fault” was her answer. Films, lectures and her book revolutionized the British penal system resulting in a more humane treatment for battered women and their abused children. Dee Dee died on September 13, 2004, in London. She is survived by her mother, Lorraine (Lorry) Soudek; her brother, Arthur (Nora) Soudek; her loving niece and nephew, Charlotte and Judd Soudek; and several cousins. Suggested contributions to: National Council of Jewish Women, P.O. Box 391, Skokie, IL 60077 in Dee Dee’s memory will be sent to their counseling center, Friend’s Place, for battered women and children.
