Madam – Today I’ve come to you to raise awareness of the topic no one really makes the time to talk about:abusive relationships.
Not only women and children abuse, but abuse in general; be it male, female or child.
Statistics show that sexual abuse in our country has increased by 117 per cent between 2015 and 2017.
It more than doubled in 2016/17 compared to the previous year.
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The number of sexual offences jumped from 31 665 in 2015/16 to 70 813 in 2016/17, an increase of 53 per cent in less than 24 months.
Why does society turn a blind eye when the topic comes up?
How many people – friends, family or colleagues – go through abuse and not say a word about it?
Do we really take the time to show interest in the lives of those who matter to us?
Or are we too preoccupied with our own to even ask a person: “How are you really doing?”
People who don’t understand and haven’t gone through abuse themselves will often ask: “Why don’t you just leave?”
It’s not that simple.
READ: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Thank you for helping me heal
Abuse breaks downs your self-esteem, making it feel impossible to start afresh.
Victims are sometimes left with a mindset of: “If I stick around, things might change.”
One of the most common answers is: “But he/she loves me…”
Let me tell you, that’s not love!
You’re a hostage!
You are stronger than you think; you don’t deserve this and don’t ever think it’s all your fault!
You are not alone.
It is time we speak up and let the world know we are done taking the punch!
Lisa Perrins
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