For #DomesticViolenceAwareness month Ive decided to share my story... I dont think Ive ever shared this story publicly. In 2007 I was physically attacked by my father. The attack was followed by a discussion that went horribly wrong. In my telling of this story I am realizing my urge to excuse my fathers behavior by saying that he suffered from PTSD and that my teenage vernacular did not ease the situation. I think about how many women excuse the abusers and think of ways it may have been their own fault that caused the countless incidents. But the truth of the matter is my father beat me as if I was a stranger on the street that owed him money. When I looked to my family for support I was met with accusations against me. When the cops arrived there wasnt much dialogue. All they needed to see was the blood running from my face and my swollen eyes. I had him arrested. In the morning while gathering clothes from my house to leave, My mother walked through the door and in followed my father. I couldnt believe it. I felt betrayed. I left. Days later my fathers lawyer called me and encouraged me not to go to court and gave me a list of reasons why. It became clear that everyone was more concerned about the well being of my abuser than me, the victim. Long story short... My mother who witnessed the whole incident was devastated and very apologetic about what happened. She pleaded with me not to send my father to jail. My fathers health was declining rapidly and of course she knew that they wouldnt take care of him the way she would at home. So I caved, I didnt show up in court. I stayed quiet. My family went on the way we usually do... Nobody talked about it much. The thing that bothers me most about this is that nobody asked me how I felt. Nobody asked me about me and I was the one that had wear a face of shame everyday in the public. My face took a while to go back to normal. I am typically understood to be a chill individual that doesnt fight, so to see my face look as badly as it did brought on a lot of questions. I cried a lot. I hated my father for what he did. I eventually moved passed what happened to me almost 7 years ago. My father has passed away since then. My family still doesnt really talk about what happened to me. I shared this story because I just realized that I am now 1 in 4 women that will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. I am a woman that made excuses for the abuser. I am a woman who loves her father and didnt know what else to do. Think about the other women who deal with domestic violence everyday. Their abusers are fathers, boyfriends, husbands, partners, brothers, uncles...etc. Please help me raise awareness for domestic violence. And lets continue awareness past October!!!
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:23:08 +0000
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