Empowering Survivors

Gurpreet Dhariwal
June 29, 2023

Far too frequently women throughout the world become the victims of domestic violence. Some people believe that only physical violence is considered domestic violence. In fact, the definition of domestic violence also includes emotional, sexual, financial, cyber stalking, and psychological abuse.. The abusive partners may not ever realize the trauma they leave their victims with and how difficult it becomes for victims to beat the cycle of traumatized life. This does not remove their culpability and should be a motive for more victims to speak out about the harms of abuse. 

In this article, we will focus on how grief can carefully be converted into actions and how domestic violence survivors can be honored in every possible way. 

Become a domestic violence advocate

Real experiences shape the personality and knowledge of a person like no other experience. If you have gone through the cycle of abuse then you know the steps of breaking the shackles. By becoming a domestic violence advocate you can contribute to meaningful organizations, which will often look out for you as a valued volunteer or mentor. You can raise awareness about how you broke the cycle of pain and took the first step toward healing yourself. 

Participate in charitable events

Most organizations run frequent charitable events to raise money and community support during designated domestic violence awareness or teen dating violence awareness months. They usually give you targets of running for particular miles or coming up with one post a day on domestic violence so that those who have been silenced for so long may find the strength to raise their voices in whatever way possible. You can also talk about the days when you coped with such a terrible experience and encourage others to come out of it safely. 

Prioritize your mental health

You can always honour yourself, or whosoever has gone through domestic violence, by laying a path where one may prioritize healthy activities in the form of yoga, gymming, cycling, walking, meditation, or mindfulness. The trauma in the mind may be eased by appreciating the present moments and letting go of the horrible past events. As they say, there is a beautiful life after the abuse. 

Speak from your experiences

Aria-Joshes Keeshan conducts interviews with other domestic violence survivors on behalf of Walk Everyday May to raise awareness and fight against the abuse. She is a survivor of domestic abuse and advocates for others to share their stories, too. There are many organizations found throughout social media that continue looking out for people who could support them by raising a voice against their abuse. You can always take a step toward such a cause to help the world. 

Start blogging or a website

When you do such a thing you see people often reach out to you to know how they could make the best choice for themselves while planning to leave the abusive relationship. Sometimes just by listening to them half of the work is done, while the rest of the strength these women get comes from their inner self. This step would help the survivors of domestic abuse or those who are going through the abuse to run away from their abusive relationship by taking proper actions which keep in mind their health, life, and security.

Grief is such an emotion that can never vanish on its own. You have to work through it while going through it. That’s the way it is. But with time it becomes less intense and the best of the coping mechanisms help you to maintain emotional stability and enhance your healing cycle. If you are facing something more intricate that couldn’t be helped by the ways mentioned above, please don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Grief is something that has no right or wrong way to heal the affected person, but some ways could help the person to operate functionally and mentally while they work their way out of the cycle trauma creates. 