As the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children commenced on November 25, a gender-based violence (GBV) survivor has for the first time publicly spoken about her ordeal.

Sharlene Zondi from Rabie Ridge said it was through God that she survived the abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children.

Read more: Emotional art therapy and reflections session following 16 Days of Activism against GBV

She spoke during a march for murdered resident Francis van der Merwe in Rabie Ridge on November 21.

Zondi said that although her family knew about the abuse, speaking about it for the first time was overwhelming and yet relieving as well.

Zondi (31) said that the abuse occurred in 2018 and 2019, when she was 24 years old.

The mother of two young girls claimed that her nose had been broken during the abuse, and since she had lost her sense of smell.

Also read: Mayibuye Youth Activism Movement walks against GBV amid scourge in the area

“It was a very abusive relationship to the point of being life-threatening. It was also traumatic because I was not allowed to have friends. It became so severe that when my two daughters were born, they were in the ICU because of the stress I experienced, which negatively impacted their well-being at birth,” said Zondi.

Asked how she had survived, Zondi said she terminated the relationship and got a protection order against her abuser in 2022.

She said mentally the abuse had taken its toll on her, and it took a long time to heal. “I’m just glad I did not expose my daughters to this abuse. When I mentioned it [now], I could feel my heart sink. My eyes got teary because it’s not something that can be easily spoken about aloud. But now that I’ve spoken, it feels different, and it feels like I don’t have to hide anything anymore.”

She said this is one step closer to her healing, and she’s relieved to have finally addressed it.

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