Break Your Silence

Seeing Myself as a Survivor

By Anonymous Survivor

**The following is written by a survivor of domestic violence and abuse. Names have been changed to protect all involved.**

I never really seen myself as a survivor, but a victim.

But I am, I am a survivor of domestic abuse. I endured 12 years of physical, mental and verbal abuse by my ex-husband.

I have come a long way, and it made me a lot tougher. But it still left many scars both physical and mental.

The First Time

The first time was when I was only 8 weeks pregnant with our daughter. I was slapped on my face for wanting to take my own car to work.

I sat at work that day with a visible handprint on my face. So shamed and yet still stayed.

Another time he choked me so hard that I had marks on my neck that people thought were passion marks. The abuse continued years and years. Sometimes in front of people and no one would help. But I was more than a survivor of physical abuse.

Survivor of Sexual Abuse

I was raped by him once because I caught a curable STD from him and when I came home and told him that he would have to go get checked, he got mad and tried to force himself on me and when I refused. He held me down on the floor and forced my knees apart.

One time that stands out has left me with scaring on my brain and headaches that I never had before. Causing me to take injections once a month for it.

This time he then yet again wanted my keys, and I fought. He then slammed my head into the wall and my head went into the sheetrock. I almost lost consciousness.

The Last Time

The last time I let it happen was when he hit me with my kids there. I knew then I had to take a stand. If I would continue to let this man hit me and my kids now seeing, they would grow up to let someone do that to them. Or worse, my son do it to someone else’s child.

There are many more times things happened; these are just that scared me more than the rest. I am now remarried, to my high school sweetheart. All in all, I have been happily married for 10 years, and I will never let anyone treat me the way I allowed him for so long.

I am a survivor. I hope that my story will one day help someone else and let them know there is always a way out.

Check These Resources:

Support Line

Other Resources and Information:

break the silence against domestic violence
BreakTheSilenceDV

Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence beyond crisis. BTSADV focuses on long-term healing through financial assistance programs, scholarships, survivor retreats, advocacy initiatives, and a national support line. The organization works to amplify survivor voices, raise awareness about coercive control and systemic failures, and help break generational cycles of abuse through education, outreach, and community engagement.

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