In 2019, after repeatedly assaulting me physically and sexually, my abuser went to Batterer’s Intervention at A No Abuse.

Abusers abuse for power and control. The desire for more power and control comes when victims assert their own right to autonomy and freedom.

In this audio clip from 2013, my abuser admits to abusing me for 10 years to maintain power and control over me. 10 more years followed.

You can also hear the PTSD tic I developed of clearing my throat. Four years later, it would completely take my voice and require surgery. It was in recovery from that surgery that I was thrown into a desk by my abuser and badly injured.

I regret not telling anyone what was happening to me at that time. I felt I couldn’t. I feared he would do more to harm me and my children. As I’ve come out to the world about how we were abused by this man, he has followed through on threats to harm me. The difference today is that I’m not a victim in silence anymore. I’m a survivor fighting for freedom from abuse and another’s power and control over me and my children.

This is not about winning or harming him. This is about stopping abuse and protecting myself and my children — as it has always been.