Nicky – Survivor from Atlantis

Nicky from Atlantis, who wished to be identified, suffered years of abuse at the hands of her partner – who was also the father to her three children. She was reluctant to pursue a case against him because she was reliant on her abusive partner for a place for her and her children to live.

“I had no other refuge and was dependent on him for his house,” Nicky said. Eventually, things got so bad that she had no other option but to seek the order. But an attempted murder and rape case against her partner was thrown out of court because no one kept Nicky up to date on when she needed to appear, or what was happening.

“After this experience, I felt that there was no solution to my problem, because I did not know where to go,” she said.

She did get a protection order in 2018, but no one took the time to explain to her what it meant or what her rights were, and her partner violated the order repeatedly.

“My partner had so many transgressions against me, and when you contact the police, they do not come out immediately… I was always in fear, because he followed me to my place of work, he followed me to our children’s school; it was really a dark period in my life.”

However, Nicky now has a much better understanding of her rights and wants to share her experiences to help others.

“I want to make a difference in someone else’s life so that I can relieve some of their pain, purely out of my experience and witnessing what was done to me. And whatever happens, I truly hope that the crime in Atlantis and gender-based violence will be reduced. This is only possible if the police begins to tackle challenges serious and not treat the victims as if they are the criminals, because we are in need of help.”