“There was a point in my life where I thought of ending my kids’ life and mine together. My eldest would collect the leftover meals from school and bring them back home to feed her sisters”, this is how C.A.* summed up her life.
When her husband’s physical abuse became a constant feature in her life, C.A. turned to sought help from Women In Need (WIN), a local, non-profit addressing issues of domestic violence, child abuse, incest, cyber violence, and other forms of violence faced by women and girls across Sri Lanka.
USAID supports WIN to provide essential services to victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) such as counselling, legal representation, shelter services and emergency relocation. The support also builds capacity at local administrative and government levels to develop collective action to address the root causes of SGBV and advance gender equality.
C.A. was stranded in her husband’s hometown with no financial support from him to feed and clothe their children. She was forced to look for employment and care for their children all on her own. “My family despised me for marrying him, the man I trusted with my life. He abandoned me like I was nothing to him in the end,” she said.’ As the abuse escalated, the District Secretariat’s office referred C.A. to WIN’s northern district office in Jaffna for assistance. “The WIN counsellors and lawyers helped me immensely to overcome the mental trauma and abuse, to build me up to where I am today.” WIN helped C.A. find her inner power and strength. With continued advice, support and counselling; WIN made her realize and understand that women, too, have rights. “They explained that I can work and take care of my family by myself without anyone’s support.”
Having benefited from WIN’s SGBV support group and skills empowerment project, C. A. soon learned how to make spices and handicrafts, enabling her to become financially independent. “Since I started to work and earn, there was courage growing inside me that helped me take care of my family. Now, If I hear that a woman is being abused, I will go talk to her and find a way out of suffering together, but there are so many women who are still going through it daily. My heart goes out to them, I pray for them.”
Despite all she endured, despite being a victim of gender-based violence, C.A. is now a survivor and an inspiration to all those around her.
*Names removed to protect identity