‘This is the story behind my ink’
A Murraylands survivor opens up about her experience with hope that other women will understand how serious domestic violence can get.
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When she walks down the street, her tattoos show her strength.
She is a survivor.
The eight works of art on her chest, legs and arms are beautiful, but they serve another purpose, too.
The Murraylands woman wanted to share the story behind her tattoos – anonymously – as a warning to other women and girls.
It needed to be heard, she said.
Women who were caught up in abusive relationships needed to realise how serious domestic violence could get.
Readers are warned that this post includes a description of an assault.
“In 2015, November, it was a Friday afternoon around 6pm, my ex-partner decided to say we were going to see his grandparents in Caloote,” she said.
“He went a wrong turn and ended up heading towards Mannum Waterfalls.
“He pulled over just before the car park.”
He grabbed some cable ties and tied her hands together.
He told her to shut up.
He pulled her out of the car and into some nearby bushes.
Then he pulled out a Stanley knife and, like a wild animal, he attacked.
“I thought I was dying,” she recalled.
“I was freaking out, screaming out ‘help’.”
He pushed her face into the rocks, molested her, kicked and spit on her, told her to f*** off.
Then he left her lying there, screaming, in her bloody, torn-up clothes.
“I was … in so much pain,” she said.
“I grabbed my phone out of my bra and it was on four per cent – no word of a lie.
“I was trying to figure out: do I call police or ambulance?
“I ended up ringing the police and police from Mannum ended up picking me up two and a half hours later.”
Over the painful next few days, she got stitched up in hospital, then gave a statement about her ordeal.
Mercifully, the police and courts did their jobs.
The attacker was locked up.
Skip forward seven years and you’ll see that the woman left lying in the rocks is no longer defined by that experience.
She is recovering from the trauma – thanks in part to a creative idea.
When she walks down the street, her tattoos hide her scars.
Help is available for survivors of domestic violence
The Murraylands woman advised anyone who was currently stuck in an abusive relationship not to blame themselves.
“It’s not your fault,” she said.
She suggested seeking help before things got serious: “There is a lot of support out there.”
- Get help: Call the Domestic Violence Crisis Line on 1800 800 098, or Murray Mallee Adelaide Hills Domestic Violence Service on 8215 6320; visit the Haven at Murray Bridge Community Centre between 9am and 4pm on weekdays, or the DVINA Centre on Standen Street, Murray Bridge between 10am and 5pm Monday to Saturday; or, in an emergency, dial 000.
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