Liudmyla is 40 years old; she currently lives and works in Chernivtsi, where the woman fled from domestic violence. Lyudmila’s husband systematically beat her, humiliated her and exerted moral and psychological pressure. Why victims often do not dare to leave the abuser. How to break the cycle of domestic violence and who is ready to help.

Liudmyla comes from Chernihiv, where she met her husband. The couple lived together for almost 3 years. However, Liudmyla remembers that time with horror, the time during which the woman suffered from violence. For the first time, it happened when the woman was pregnant. According to Liudmyla, the offender had a drug addiction and often drank. At the beginning of the relationship, the woman had no idea about it. When drunk, the husband frequently humiliated her, later, every domestic quarrel ended in a beating.

“I had moderate injuries, intimidation, everything. The situation when I was already pregnant became a red flag. We had an argument at home that turned into a conflict, and my then-husband smashed a guitar over my head. The guitar fell into pieces, and then I realized that something must be done about it, because it is no longer tolerable.”

Liudmyla remembers that regularly after a quarrel or physical violence, the husband apologized, said that it would not happen again, but it always happened again. In the spring of 2019, the woman made the final decision to leave the abuser with her children. At first, the woman lived in the “Mriia Marta” center, later she was admitted to the Chernivtsi Regional Center for Social and Psychological Assistance, where she lived for almost six months. While there, she found a job, sent her older son to school and her younger son to kindergarten.

“I am the case of a mom, who did break out of this circle. Living for the second time, I got a job. That’s how I lived and worked. Let’s put it this way, I have achieved some success, that is, I have no relationship with my abuser.”