Speaking out against gender-based violence (GBV) is personal for Michelle Chelliah Singh.
The Lonehill resident and founder of the Love Light Care Foundation wore purple during the organization’s Circle of Love knitting event at Norscot Manor on October 1, as a show of support for women affected by violence.

Singh is a GBV survivor herself. She said the recent killings of women in Ekurhuleni, Kempton Park and Springs made it important for her to stand with other women. “I wanted to show support of these women, being a GBV victim myself. I am now a GBV ambassador,” she said.

Read more: Awareness raised about GBV

Singh said she experienced abuse during her first marriage and knew what it felt like to be trapped in a situation that was difficult to leave. However, after 11 years of marriage, she reached a point where she knew she had to make a decision.

She was 31 and financially stable at the time, but said her daughters were the biggest reason she finally walked away. “I looked at my two young daughters who were ten and seven at the time, and I felt their pain, seeing it in them, and I did it more for them than for me.”

Singh said she could not continue in a relationship where her children were being exposed to trauma and abuse. “That’s when I took the plunge and said, ‘Enough’,” she said.

That experience later became part of the reason she chose to help other women. Through Love Light Care Foundation, Singh said she works with women through trauma counselling and awareness programmes, hoping to help them find a way forward.

Her message to women who are still in abusive relationships, particularly those who feel they cannot leave because they are financially dependent, is simple: there is a way out. “I’ll say this to my fellow sisters: you will make it. You will be able to stand on your own two feet. Take the step,” she said.

Singh also urged women not to suffer in silence, adding that there are plenty of organisations willing to assist.

Also read: Local organisation fights GBV scourge

Surviving the abuse for Singh was not the end of her story. She now wants to use what she went through to help other women recognise that they do not have to remain in abusive situations.

She believes survivors can also become advocates for change and help others who are still trying to find their way out. “The Love Light Care Foundation is one of those organisations where we’re able to guide them, help them, and show them the way.”

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