Nika Smith

Because of Oligarchia (fictitious name for an actual European country), I have a decade of experience with domestic violence and unfair authorities who prosecuted me—the victim, but not the offender—my ex husband who abused my children.

Because of England, who I will forever be grateful to for accepting us, I can finally share our story and what I learned from it in my book, In a Hurricane of Violence. However, it took me seven years of living in a country that supports freedom of speech to actually start believing it.

Now I speak. About the common abusers’ techniques and traps that slowly swallow you up and hold you in a detrimental relationship. About the consequences of violence on children's and adult's mental and physical health as well as financial and social life. About recovery, including the traps upon returning to “normal life”. I speak in the hope that I will live to see the day when I can go back into silence. Not out of fear, but because each person in the world will have enough knowledge of the mechanisms of violence to prevent it. Indeed, I dream of the day when domestic violence, which is still an everyday reality for so many children and adults, will be wiped out from our society.

If you would like more information or to share your life story and thoughts, please feel free to contact me on Twitter: NikaSmith@DomesticAbuseNS or via email: ns.domestic.abuse@gmail.com.