“Has he ever trapped you in a room and not let you out?

Has he ever raised a fist as if he were going to hit you?

Has he ever thrown an object that hit you or nearly did?

Has he ever held you down or grabbed you to restrain you?

Has he ever shoved, poked, or grabbed you?

Has he ever threatened to hurt you?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then we can stop wondering whether he’ll ever be violent; he already has been.”

– Lundy Bancroft: Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

Any harmful act perpetrated against a person’s will is considered abuse. The term ”Gender-based violence” is socially ascribed (gender) upon differences between males and females.

The term “gender-based violence” comprises rape, attempted rape and physical assault,  emotional abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, forced early marriage, domestic violence, marital rape, trafficking, and female genital mutilation.

One risk factor, though, stands out above all the others: strangulation. Batterers who strangle their victim are more likely to engage in other extreme acts of violence; it’s a message that there are no limits to which he won’t go. The odds are he’s willing to kill. ¹ (Joni E Johnston. Psychology Today.) 

Surviving strangulation is surviving attempted murder.

At any given moment, you have the power to say this is NOT how the story will end.

Christine Mason Miller

Main image: Pixabay