The beating never stopped – City Press

Description

After seven suicide attempts, four hospital admissions, a foetus flushed down the toilet and blows to her body, a woman walks away from an abusive relationship. She wants one thing from her ex À“ an apology to her mother for what he made her go through.

Analysis

The story is covered in the City Press during the 16 Days of Activism and details the trauma of abuse, narrated by the survivor. The details are vivid and the horror of living through abuse and returning to this dead-end scenario is well captured. If the story aims to unnerve it does this, well. The survivor takes responsibility of going back to this horror relationship. She takes responsibility of hearing but not listening to advice, especially her mother’s.

The burden of abuse is carried by many and the survivor wants her ex to carry his. The apology to her mother is the abuser signing on the dotted line À“ his responsibility in the violence which is missing. Perhaps the author may or may not have tried to contact the abuser or the mother and probably that was the purpose of the tale À“ gaps that cannot be filled.

It was not meant to be an academic exercise so the lack of statistics and other voices does not deter from the brutality of gender based violence meted out against this individual.

Headline

The headline is provocative and captures a never-ending nightmare.

Sources

The story is a personal narration by a survivor of abuse.

Language

The writer uses good language to demonstrate her plight and the depth of abuse that she had gone through. She refers to her former husband as one who exhibited a “Mr Nice Guy personaÀ. In this instance, the phrase caricatures an abuser who would be overly nice in front of the survivor’s friends or relatives so much that if she complained to them, they would not believe her. This is a common trend in abusers.

Visual image

The survivor does not fear to be named and her photo is inserted in the story. She is a good-looking woman and the photo thus demonstrates that abuse cuts across all races, class and also beautiful women.

Story angle and perspective

Told during the 16 Days of Activism campaign, the newspaper does well by giving space to a survivor to narrate her story so that women in similar circumstances understand what an abusive relationship entails. The story treats the subject matter and the subject with care and respect. It encourages women to walk away and not shoulder the burden of abuse. It encourages women to break their silence with courage.

Placement or position

The story appears with a picture showing a strong and determined woman (survivor). It is the only feature on the page under the section entitled: Viewpoint and Analysis.

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