HAZARD OF BEING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTIVIST

It was exactly eight weeks ago when a young entered my office that she was directed to me by her friend that I could her solve her problem. What was her problem? She unknowingly got married to drug addict and a thief and he has been abusing her for the past 9 years. She looked so tired, fed up with life and so scared. I immediately swung into as I normally do went to the police station to report the case and the husband was invited immediately. He was even a very known person in the police station due to his several cases of theft. At the end of the case, the young woman divorced him and was granted the custody of her children.

Several times after this the man would come to my office begging that he wanted his wife back and I always told him that Your wife said she was no more interested in the marriage, why don't you forget about her and move on with your life. The last time he came, he said he knew if I convinced his wife to come back to him, his wife will listen to me but I told him I cannot do that because his wife has the right to live her life the way she want it and that I don't have any right to ask her to stay in an abusive marriage. After begging for several hours he left my office feeling very bitter that I was the one that took his wife away from him.

One week after her visit to my office a month ago, my office was burgled. Out of 10 offices in our block, it was only my office that was burgled. Everybody at my place of work were surprised because for many years that offices have been there, my own was the first case. I reported to the security and my office was placed under surveillance. Three weeks after this, we went to church and cane back to find that our home has been burgled. My room was violated in a way that I never imagine in my life. We have reported the case to the police but I know our police are not very reliable which means I need to have a personal security which is very expensive.

The way my bedroom was ransacked, I felt violated, I felt stripped and I know my life could be in danger. I need to put in place a personal security. This is the hazards we face as activist against domestic violence. Even friends were blaming me that I should have left the woman alone with her problem but I cannot ddo that and this will not stop me from helping more women. Violence against women must be eradicated in our society.

Please support us to continue to help victims of sexual violence, domestic violence and all forms of gender based violence. We need more equipment in our vocational school and we need to establish our \"Agency and Digital Empowerment Theater\" (ADET) for survivors of Gender Based Violence to develop their agency and become economically empowered