DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE OF US, YET THE PROBLEM IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED, EXCUSED OR DENIED.
Excusing such behaviour not only perpetuates it, but it also gives someone power to dominate and have total control over you. It compromises your human dignity. Gone are the days where we justified abuse for love. There have countless cases where women have lost their lives through enduring such treatment. If someone loves you, they ought to respect you enough not to hurt you. Instead they should protect you.
Noticing and acknowledging the signs of an abusive relationship are the first steps towards ending this scourge. There are different kinds of abuse that we are prone to, and others are psychological rather than physical. Domestic violence can be in any form as tabulated:
HOW MANY OF US CAN SAY THEIR PAST LIFE EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN A BLESSING IN DISGUISE?
Surprisingly, this is how I, Gugu Mpungose, the author of The Beauty of a Woman, a personal note to me an inspirational journal.
Having been raised singlehandedly by my mother growing up feeling rejected by the first man who was supposed to love and protect me, having endured rape and a divorce at the age of thirty,
Instead of allowing all these difficulties to define me, I instead found strength and courage to help those who might be going through the same thing. Even though this was not in my plans to do, and I didn’t even know where to start, but through God’s guidance it all became possible.
It is true that our experience can either make us or break us. The differece lies in how you choose to view the situation you are faced with at that particular moment – do you allow it to define you or do you choose to rise above it and use the experience to work to your advantage. I truly don’t regret any of the things I have gone through because they have shaped me to be the person I am today. I can relate to people who are going through different struggkes, most of all, I have learnt not to judge and to practise humility. I don’t anything to boast about not because of my messy life but because I know that I wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for the Lord.