Lena, 24, Saint-Petersburg.
«There was a period in my life when I was in a relationship with a person who hit me. In the beginning everything was beautiful: flowers, courtship, emotional declarations of love. Then he started reading my diary, going through my things, looking through my messages. I felt that he saw me as an object that fully belonged to him rather than a person who has a personal space, life and rights. At some point I stood up to him and said that I?m tired of feeling this pressure. That?s when he slapped me for the first time. A couple of days later he came to me on the verge of tears and for hours begged me to forgive him. Then it happened again. The only difference is that this time he hit me so hard I fell to the floor. In that moment I seriously thought that I’m in danger. After that incident I decided to never communicate with him again.
When he hit me, I felt tremendous pain that left me breathless, and impotent rage, but didn?t end our relationship. Why? Honestly, I didn?t know how I should react. No one ever spoke about violence in my school or in my family. Violence was taboo in my circle.
I think that if we want to change this, it?s important to start discussing these issues in our everyday life. To call out people who blame victims. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of such things. Women who find themselves in these situations are in desperate need of support. And the public opinion can drastically change ? in one direction or the other».
