Mauritius: Victim of Physical and Moral Abuse

Sophia is a young woman who is passionate about sports. She used to play volleyball, judo and taekwondo when she was younger. She wishes to resume her training in judo and taekwondo.  This 18-year-old woman has gone through unimaginable, harsh experiences since she was just a young girl. These made her quit sports.

Sophia’s grandmother took her under her responsibility since the day she was born. She lived her childhood and her early teenage years with her grandmother, whom she loved and whose memories she still cherished. Sophia has never spent a day or a night in the hearth of her parents. She barely talks to her father and her mother suffers from mental health issues.

She did not have many friends when she was a child. She used to play alone and lock herself in her grandmother’s house. She rarely went out, except when she had to go to school. As she grew older, she became more rebellious. She tried to break free of these constraints by venturing outside. She ventured too far and got into drugs. She was perhaps in the search of love and security which was missing in her life, despite the warm presence of her grandmother. When she was 13, Sophia ran away from her house because she was looking for “fun”. She went to stay at a friend’s house. This “friend” of hers sexually abused her. She has been physically and morally abused when she was just a child.

The paths that she chose and the mistakes that she made when she was younger and naiver still haunt her. Her younger self perhaps believed that the “fun” that she sought would fill the vacuum in her life. Those mistakes have had and are still having an impact in her present life. Sophia, who is now an adult, is endeavouring to untangle herself from her past and to heal her wounds.

Sophia has been moving from shelter to shelter following the death of her grandmother. She was placed in Rehabilitation Youth Centre when she was 14. She became a resident at Safe Haven Halfway Home in September 2017. SHHH helped her in following a training at Websun Academy and in securing a job at Lux Hotels & Resort. Sophia’s goal in life is to save money and buy her own house.