LOVING YOU FIRST - Written by Shivanie Rampersaud

Young Pioneers

Published by Shivanie Rampersaud

Shivanie Rampersaud, Founder of Young Pioneers

She was left there lying in a pool of blood, her face covered in scars, her limbs so battered and perhaps broken, she couldn't move, her half naked body touching the cold floor through her torn clothes, her vision as dark as night as her eyes fight to keep her sight. Who is she?

She can be you! She can be your sister, your mother, your daughter, your friend, she is every woman who has been beaten and battered by her partner often suffering in silence, becuase she has been refused help by a broken system, or is too scared to leave or simply has no where else to go.

Domestic Violence and Abuse are serious issues faced by many individuals both men and women worldwide. It is a situation that can begin with the sweetest, kindest words and the most loving hearts, that over night turns into your worst nightmare. It is not your fault but you are made to feel and even believe it is. Society looks down on a divorcee so you stay and suffer in silence, your family convinces you it will pass or causion you to behave so he won't hit you again. Right?

NO! It's wrong! We must stop falling under the pressures of society and families and think of our safety and ourselves. When he beats you down, it is you, who pain not anyone else. Why do we teach our girls that it is okay to suffer in silence because if they leave their marriages or relationships they will bring shame to their families?

Stand up! Speak out! Leave! You are worth so much more, there is always a brighter day ahead no matter how much darkness you see. Staying with someone who hurts you physically, emotionally or mentally will only damage you. Get out my sisters, love will find you again, but before love can find you, you need to love yourself.

GET EDUCATED ON ABUSE

Types of Abuse include

Physical - Hitting Mental - Stress, control, torment Emotional - Breaking your self esteem and confidence, blackmailing, manipulating, preying on your feelings Verbal- cursing, nagging, belittling Sexual- It is important to note that even as a married couple if you refuse to have sex and your partner forces you, it is rape/sexual abuse.

CONSEQUENCES OF ABUSE & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Death Amputations (losing parts of your body) Depression Mental Health Issues (going insane) Suicide Lost of a child/loved one Emotional, mental and physical scars and trauma The risk of your child becoming the next victim.

WAYS TO GET OUT

Leaving an abusive relationship is one of the hardest things to do. Many individuals say just leave but it's not that simple. More than 70% of domestic violence victims never leaves the relationship or if they do they always return. An abuser usually weakens a victim to a point where he/she is afraid to leave, feels helpless, or starts believing he/she deserves to be abused. They usually take control of the victim which makes it seem almost impossible to leave. This is very difficult for a normal person to understand unless they have experienced it. If you are reading this and can relate to it please seek help, reach out to anyone that you trust, even to Young Pioneers and we will assist you.

IT IS EVERYONE'S BUSINESS

If someone you know is being abused encourage them to leave, seek help for them. As a member of society it is your responsibility to file a complaint. Always think that this can be you or someone you care about.

FOCUSING ON OUR YOUNG MEN

In my opinion we treat our men as outcast from educational opportunities, self caring and self loving awareness. We as a society teach them to keep their feeling bottled up, and to be tough, not to show emotions, "Real men don't cry", "man up, why are you so soft." Aren't these the things we say? Now if we teach them to be tough and hard how do we expect them to be towards our gentle daughters? We need to focus more on our young men and teaching them positive ways of channeling their frustration, anger and emotions.

UPCOMING PROJECT

To this end, Young Pioneers will be launching a Self Love and a Sex Education project in the upcoming week. These projects are aimed at building our young people and educating them along with parents on best practices, it will offer seminars, question and answers, live chat and a special focus on young men. This project targets 5 of Guyana's Administrative Regions while it's online component seeks to reach as many individuals locally and Internationally as possible. The second phase of this project will focus on free training and molding for Young People. It is being coordinated by YP's Founder Shivanie Rampersaud. Like and follow our page for our live launch and all updates on these projects. Including how you can benefit from these seminars and be apart of our training program.