I grew up in a home where violence against women was justified. You are told your spouse needs to beat you to show he is in charge. If he did not, then it means something is wrong. Hence, every woman I knew as a child had endured mild or severe intimate partner violence.
From generation to generation, women have bored the brunt of abusive partners, whether indirect or not; psychological or physical abuse. In 2019 an estimated 135 women were brutally murdered by their spouses in France. These are the ones we heard of. How, then, about those other victims suffering in silence?
With the lockdown, many women found themselves trapped indoors with their perpetrators when tensions become double this, leading to an increase in abuse. These women have no control. Some of them do not have any supportive families or friends or colleagues nearby who can help them.
But the good news is they have neighbours. You may be one of them. Please, do not close your ears when you hear these women screaming for help. Call the police. Do whatever you can to get them out of the grips of their perpetrators—light a heart, not a cry.
Shalom.
