He (my husband) used to take advantage during the lockdown,
because he knew I couldn’t go anywhere.
He beat me up so badly,
something he was used to doing.
That day I thought he was going to severely hurt me,
because he kept saying he’ll kill me one day.
Gender-based violence has become a national disaster in this nation
and therefore, it needs to be dealt with as a national disaster.
When COVID came, it came with
that component of social distance.
If you are in a situation where the husband is the one who is working,
now, he uses the power
which is having the money to now manipulate
or abuse this other person.
So home became a danger in the sense that you are forced in one way or the other
to be with the perpetrator, with limited options.
We were supporting so many clients
who were going through GBV [gender-based violence].
We are now having around 1,500 cases. That's already triple the number compared to 2019.
Shelters were overwhelmed because of lack of resources. They are understaffed.
The child is small, the mother is sick in the hospital and they are poor.
The community activists, they become the first responder.
And then now that also raises issues of child protection,
how safe is this child with this, with this activist?
Because probably they are not trained in issues of protection.
But even if they are trained, they need extra support
because you find out that they rescue using their own finances.
When she was brought to me, her condition was not good,
she could not walk.
She was afraid to go out and play
because she did not have the strength to walk.
What really helped the girl was talking to her and counseling.
It took her about two months to recover.
She then started going out to play with the neighbors.
The government has never given me anything.
They just ask me to live with the child as my own,
as they sort out the case.
I volunteer to take care of these children
because if I don’t, they will be oppressed.
It's the government's responsibility to take care of its people.
Violence has a way of affecting somebody's mental well-being
to a point of sometimes even making smaller decisions becomes very difficult.
So, by the time a woman is deciding to come out of an abusive relationship,
there needs to be a lot of support.
I made a decision to leave.
I went to the hospital and then went directly to the police station.
I used to live a life of fear.
At least here, I’m able to relax. The counselor comes to talk with me.
We went to the Chief, because we refused to see our fellow women being battered.
We said we want to go around teaching and sensitizing our women (to the problem).
Those in government, all they do is talk.
We want the government to intervene
because personally, it’s overwhelming.