Domestic Abuse Survivor: “I Took My Power Back”

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Fifteen years after she divorced her abusive husband, a mother is sharing how she overcame years of threats, manipulation and intimidation to reclaim her power. She opened up to Vaughnique Toote during her series, “When Love Hurts”.

Pulling a tissue from her back pocket, she wipes the tears from her eyes and takes a deep breath to compose herself. It’s not easy reliving the darkest days of her life when she endured physical and emotional abuse by the man she shared a life and a child with.

The mother and survivor says she realized something wasn’t right about seven years into her marriage.

In hindsight, she says there were red flags when they were dating but back then, she interpreted them as love.

There were black eyes and bruises and times she was forced to be intimate with her partner. But the abuse wasn’t just physical.

She recalls being too afraid to close her eyes some nights out of fear of being strangled in her sleep.

The mother of one says she reached her breaking point when her husband lost his temper while their little girl sat in the backseat. She says she doesn’t think he would ever hurt their daughter, but for her enough was enough.

As the abuse continued, she was advised to file a complaint with police.

When her daughter was about a year and a half, she made the decision to seek a safe space on a Family Island but even that was challenging.

The mother and daughter remained on the island for about three years. During that period, she made the decision to reclaim her power and refuse to give in to her fear.

It’s been 15 years since her divorce and that baby girl is now a young adult.

Her message to others in similar situations is, there is always a way out.