Domestic abuse: Women and girls never need to suffer alone
Domestic abuse affects a lot of women.
As a friend, I have been aware that some of my friends have endured domestic abuse. As teenaged girls and as women. In relationships and when they were single and ‘fair game’.
As a colleague, I’ve seen the bruises, heard the whispered phone calls. Seen the fear and anxiety in their eyes.
As an acquaintance, I’ve seen the tears of women who have suffered unspeakable episodes of violence. Beaten. Spat on. Told they are worthless. Trapped. The things is, I never said anything. We smiled, chit-chatted about our work, the weather, activities. But I just didn’t have the tools to ask. To listen.
Staying silent in the awkwardness of talking
When I was a teenager and young woman, I didn’t know how to have difficult conversations with other girls. They hinted about their experiences of abuse and violence at home; of witnessing their mothers being hit. We just didn’t have the language to talk about it properly. I...