Supporting one
another
Survivors stories
I am grateful to all the brave survivors who have shared their stories with me to support others and create change. The stories in this section are real experiences of survivors in their own words, Consent was received and throughout the process, confidentiality was maintained. Please be aware that some of these stories contain descriptions of Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. If you are worried about your relationship or that of a friend, support is available.
Lived Experiences of Brave Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Survivors
I met my husband in my 4th year as a nursing student. He made me feel safe in the first few months and couldn’t wait for me to finish school as I requested. He convinced me to accept his proposal at the end of the third month and we got married. 2 weeks after our marriage, he destroyed our wedding album over an issue not connected to me. My husband and his siblings are so close and I was treated as a stranger in my home. I started having misunderstandings with my husband and his family. Before I knew what was happening, my husband started abusing me verbally and laying false accusations on me, he even abused the kids physically just to hurt me. My husband became ill and the family accused me of being responsible for the ailment. I lived constantly under fear, anxiety, and developed poor health, I wasn’t able to care for myself and the children because I didn’t have the finance to do so. I was asked by my husband to either leave the marriage or face his wrath. The emotional trauma became unbearable for me and I reached out to my friend Chinwe who supported me emotionally and psychologically, she supported me to make informed decisions and signposted me to an organization that delivered therapy sessions for my children. I eventually left the abusive relationship, got a job, and can care for my children now. I still have a long way to go but I am not where I used to be, I have gone above my fears and worries and am on a journey of healing.
Anonymous
I want to say a very big thank you to Chinwe for her endless love and care towards me and my children. It all started in May 2021 when I had a horrible experience of marriage. I got married in 2019, the marriage was full of lies and deceit. I thought I could endure and make it work because I was made to believe the mistakes were from me and was worried my first child will be fatherless. I didn’t have an opinion in the marriage, my husband constantly threatened me with he would send me out of the house and marry another woman. He always reminded me that I was just there to make babies. I was scared of him then and couldn’t speak up. I even decided to run for my life but wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to handle whatever will come my way. We had a misunderstanding when I was pregnant with our second baby and the push he gave me made me end up in the hospital and my second baby was born. He forcefully took away my first child from me, then I met Chinwe through my Sister’s friend. She spoke with me like we have known each other for a very long time and her arms were open to welcome me. She listened to me and spoke some inspirational words that kept me going till today. She rendered help to me in so many ways. With her support, I was able to get my 18 months baby back. She supported me financially to take care of myself and my children and went further to give me some money to start my business which I use the profits to take care of my children. Thank you Chinwe for your words of encouragement and availability whenever I reach out.
Anonymous
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