Taking a short breather...

Domestic violence comes in all shapes and forms. It is not necessarily physically violent. It can be the secret and persistent manipulation of another person, until they are completely under that person's control. It is not public. It is very private and mostly friends and family will have no idea that it is going on. If the victim manages to free themselves from their situation, often they are lumped with a legacy of shame and anger and pain. Fear of judgement is a major issue. Rather than questioning the person who channeled years of energy into creating a toxic lifestyle of psychological control and manipulation, the victims themselves are at risk, unfortunately, of becoming the targets of 'misdirected judgement'.

Speaking up, telling her story, Georgina is showing an enormous amount of courage. She is laying her entire adult life bare for the benefit of those around her, to show what shape manipulation and control in a relationship can take. DV offenders rely on the silence of those around them, and the taboo topic casts the heavy influence of society's expectations of keeping quiet and moving on, or as it is often dismissively referred to as "getting over it". She is making public a taboo topic, one which is often kept in the dark and not spoken openly about. Refusing to fade away quietly is part of regaining control as well as sharing experience in the hope that others might find  support. Reviewing what was the most traumatic experience in her life is not without cost, however. It is incredibly exposing at a time when she is particularly vulnerable. 

In saying that, we're going to take a breather. I've only released two parts of a six part story. As you can see from that, she's been through quite a bit. In a few days I'll release some more of her story, but in the meantime we're just going to take a short break.

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