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Institutional Abuse - Hilary's StoryView
My own abuse occurred within the context of a bible college. It has taken over a decade for me to even begin to make sense of and articulate why I still feel such profound pain when I am reminded of what I experienced in its aftermath. Having put my studies …
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Ann's Story - The Valley of Dry BonesView
The Valley of Dry Bones I am a survivor, and my story has been shared many times, in many places, to raise awareness of domestic abuse and how it can happen to anyone. It was a gradual increase from working on my self-esteem, to cutting me off from my family …
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Diane's Story - Chapter 2: The EscalationView
The Escalation Then, one day in America, Mike hit me in a public place, when we were in the car with the children. Within minutes several police cars arrived, with blue flashing lights, and my husband was arrested. Subsequently we both had to appear in court. I was worried about …
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Diane's Story - Chapter 1: The BeginningView
Background I was brought up in a loving Christian home, where it was encouraged to welcome everyone. I knew nothing about abuse or violence. When I left home, I trained to be a teacher. I worked in England and Germany, and very much enjoyed travelling at this time. However, I …
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Gwen's StoryView
We interviewed Gwen, to find out about her faith and the abuse she experienced in her marriage. How long was it from first experiencing abuse to actually leaving the relationship? What were the barriers to you leaving? It was 10yrs before I finally left. The initial barrier was not recognising …
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Linda's StoryView
A Survivor writes about her experience of being abused and having a strong belief in marriage. How long was it from first experiencing abuse to actually leaving the relationship? What were the barriers to you leaving? Six years. I didn’t think it was abuse. In my mind, if he wasn’t …
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Sally’s story - Religion enslaves, Jesus frees.View
I was angry with God when I left my abusive husband.I was angry because I’d spent years praying that God would ‘fix’ his problems so he wouldn’t be abusive, that he’d restore my marriage. And he hadn’t answered that prayer. I read “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will …
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Patricia’s StoryView
Rev Adrian Miller is addressing the widespread problem of domestic abuse. He talks with Patricia (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) about her experience of abuse and the church’s response to her. Patricia currently works for a church. Q: Patricia, you were married to an abusive husband …
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Margaret’s storyView
My name is Margaret and this is my story. Like any young woman, I met a man and fell in love. Our relationship was never easy, but I loved him and 3 years later we were married. The first year of our marriage was the best year of our relationship. …