Márcia
“The boy on the phone had exactly the same name as my husband, with ‘junior’ at the end.”
Name: Márcia
Age: 49
He spent more and more nights away from home. He didn’t want me to work, said I didn’t need to. My job was to be at home with the children. After a while I managed to pass my driving test but he has never allowed me to drive. Now I understand that he wanted to keep me at home, and that I should be completely dependent on him.
Nur
“He beat me so hard that I left home many times. The police used to pick me up and make me go home again.”
Name: Nur
Age: 17
Almost a year had passed since my mother died. She had divorced my father because he was violent, but she died of a heart disease. That’s why I was living with my father.
Bushra, Rihana, Parveen and Mary
“We woke up in a room filled with flames and smoke.”
Name: Bushra, Rihana, Parveen and Mary
Age: 16-23
Henna
“I’m glad he’s a boy.”
Name: Henna
Age: 21
I left my family when I was 16. I’d had enough. My father was away working in different jobs most of the time, and my mother only cared about my brother and wouldn’t let me have any friends of my own. So I left home and joined up with some other girls. Life on the street has taught me that I’m a survivor, I’ve worked and I’ve managed to look after myself.
They can’t buy my soul, and they can’t buy my heart.
Lizzy
“After three days he bought his freedom and got out.”
Name: Lizzy
Age: 39
He forced his way in to my father’s home then he rang me and said he would kill everyone, my whole family, so I said I’d go straight over. I went with him and then there was a year of assaults and rape and everything you can imagine. We used to sell bread on the streets.
Rafaela
“He’s changed. He’s a new man and I love him.”
Name: Rafaela
Age: 24
I broke up with him several times and went back to live with my mother, but I always went back to him. He was so full of regret, and I love him.
