
“Many years ago, I was the repeated victim of a man, who at the time, I loved very much…”
Lisa Oldfield is a survivor of domestic violence. So when she read that Mark Latham had attacked Rosie Batty and said that family violence only happens in disadvantaged communities, it made Lisa’s blood boil.
Today Lisa writes for Mamamia about how the fact she lived in a beautiful beach-side home did nothing to protect her from the blows from a violent ex-partner…
Racing to work this morning, showering, packing my briefcase, kissing sleepy little heads as the kids pop in and out of my room, gratefully taking a hot cuppa from my husband, I took a deep breath and surveyed the cheerful domestic chaos that is my life.
It isn’t glamourous, it’s a little untidy, but like a favourite old jumper, it is warm, familiar and where I feel most comfortable.
My guilty pleasure is the 10 minutes it takes me to blow dry my unruly mop of hair and read the headlines and updates on social media.
But this week, I read something that tore at the tight knit fabric that is my jumper-like life. It took me straight back to a place where I was 20 years ago, cold and alone, but familiar, indeed frighteningly familiar.
My chest tightened, I felt the vomit rise in my throat. I started to shake. I had to read it again.