Tags: domestic violence

Julia reveals how she used her own personal experience with domestic violence to encourage other women in her neighborhood to seek help. This story is used as an organizing tool around family violence in the North End of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Tapiwa grew up in Zimbabwe, watching his father manipulate and control his mother. Wondering why women and men are not equals, he joined a gender club while in secondary school and eventually became an activist. He is happy that over the years his father has changed and, like him, now speaks out against gender violence and discrimination.

Dawn is from South Africa. She grew up watching her father beat her mother and went on to live in abusive relationships herself for many years. After finally fighting back against her husband, she understood she didn't want the kind of power he had been wielding over her. She left him and sought help with substance abuse recovery. Both she and her mother are content to be on their own, free from abuse.

The storyteller talks about connecting with her Vietnamese roots and her community.

Jeff provides a compelling look at why youth and adults ignore the problem of domestic violence and teen dating violence. He, along with a group of youth, created these stories in the winter of 2006 and have screened them as part of Close to Home's ongoing community organizing work with local youth and families. To learn more, visit Close to Home's website.