Domestic Violence – The Voiceless Crime
We are often blinded by love. We choose not to see the things that cause us harm simply because we love them and we believe the love is mutual. Sometimes it is a years’ worth of a partner or family member wearing you down, compelling you to believe that you are ungrateful or unworthy of their love. Other times it is physical, leaving tangible and symbolic scars on your skin, reminding you that you are worthless. Their days do not consist of a welcoming and contented relationship, but rather treading on eggshells, awaiting their next mistake. Sadly, this is a reality of every 1 in 3 women in New Zealand, who suffer from domestic abuse.
Today, Maori women and children are twice as likely to have …show more content…
Domestic violence, however lies muffled beneath the sheets, shamefully hidden by lack of coverage by the media; the dishonesty of this more shameful than the criminals it protects. Over the years, countless women have told stories of how they were abused, and police did not bat an eyelid in their direction. For one woman this was a harsh reality. The woman who has hidden her identity, is addressed as Miss L. Miss L described her relationship as “awesome and passionate” in the beginning. "Initially it was like a love bomb. It was just complete awesomeness. Passion. It was unlike any relationship I had before," she regretfully states. Soon after their romance began, she tell us of how the beatings were minimal and only a few bruises here and there. The further she invested into the relationship the more her love for her abuser grew, but so did the beatings. The minimal bruises turned into large cuts, and her meager mistakes turned into catastrophic circumstances that left her questioning whether she would live or die in that moment. When she finally went to the police, her abuser was jailed for one month and was asked to pay a modest fee of $100 towards women's refuge. Miss L’s abuser hardly faced any punishment for the years he made her suffer. After the initial arrest of Miss L’s abuser, he was not faced with any criminal charges and the police
We are often blinded by love. We choose not to see the things that cause us harm simply because we love them and we believe the love is mutual. Sometimes it is a years’ worth of a partner or family member wearing you down, compelling you to believe that you are ungrateful or unworthy of their love. Other times it is physical, leaving tangible and symbolic scars on your skin, reminding you that you are worthless. Their days do not consist of a welcoming and contented relationship, but rather treading on eggshells, awaiting their next mistake. Sadly, this is a reality of every 1 in 3 women in New Zealand, who suffer from domestic abuse.
Today, Maori women and children are twice as likely to have …show more content…
Domestic violence, however lies muffled beneath the sheets, shamefully hidden by lack of coverage by the media; the dishonesty of this more shameful than the criminals it protects. Over the years, countless women have told stories of how they were abused, and police did not bat an eyelid in their direction. For one woman this was a harsh reality. The woman who has hidden her identity, is addressed as Miss L. Miss L described her relationship as “awesome and passionate” in the beginning. "Initially it was like a love bomb. It was just complete awesomeness. Passion. It was unlike any relationship I had before," she regretfully states. Soon after their romance began, she tell us of how the beatings were minimal and only a few bruises here and there. The further she invested into the relationship the more her love for her abuser grew, but so did the beatings. The minimal bruises turned into large cuts, and her meager mistakes turned into catastrophic circumstances that left her questioning whether she would live or die in that moment. When she finally went to the police, her abuser was jailed for one month and was asked to pay a modest fee of $100 towards women's refuge. Miss L’s abuser hardly faced any punishment for the years he made her suffer. After the initial arrest of Miss L’s abuser, he was not faced with any criminal charges and the police