To the editor
In 1994 I was volunteering with Algoma Women's Sexual Assault Services and saw firsthand the damage that is done by an abuser.
I am also a survivor of physical abuse. Workshops were conducted with the city, OPP and police in Sault Ste Marie to educate officers. I believe that once officers are faced with work shops such as is done in the Sault they begin to understand what a female goes through when she has be assaulted either in the home or on the street.
And yes we do go back to the relationship a number of times before leaving for good. Sometimes it's because we have no money and nowhere to go. I spent many years living in fear that my abuser would come back and get me as he said he would. Remember we are good people who want this to stop.
I am now in my 10th year volunteering here in the hospital. Working in pallative care, chemo, and the fracture clinic -- listening to people tell me about abuse in there lives and no one came to help them. It's so sad to still have these memories when they are at the end of life. Thanks for reading this -- I am a survivor of abuse and have a great life now.
I'm safe. Thanks.
Rita LaFord,
Oshawa
