“My dad kicked me out once he found out that I was Trans. I ended up at a shelter which I then left I for various reasons. I moved in with my then boyfriend. Things were going well until he started to abuse me constantly. On the last straw, he assumed I was cheating on him and attacked me with a knife and sliced my face. Sad thing is, I couldn’t report him to the police because of the limitations that us as transgenders face in this country”. MISSY* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“The person who I’m dating thinks he is doing me a favour. And maybe he is right. Being single is tough and as a trans person, no one really cares about us. He will remind me how he feeds and houses me daily. I don't have a voice around him. But he is also very big and muscular so I have learnt to just do what he wants so I don’t get beat up”. CYRUS* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“I feel like with heterosexuals, there is no hiding so it's easier to talk to family about what you’re going through. I don’t have that privilege. And he uses it to his advantage. I can’t go the police either because they will end throwing me to the police. I often think about leaving, but then to who? We are a very small illegal community”. STEVE* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“You know because gender based violence is often associated with heterosexuality, I didn’t know I was being abused until the damage had been done. For the longest time, he said this was another kind of love that he was teaching me. I believed him and ended expecting it all the time. In the pandemic, forceful sex became apart of it whenever he pleased. I got this scar while resisting his other friend he had brought along to hit me”. PEARL* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“My story is a painful one to talk about as it takes me back to a dark place and I’m honestly not ready. I was blinded by love that I lost a lot of friends, went into a state of depression from all the self body hate that he inflicted on me from comments like I’m too fat or I’m not beautiful enough. My only hope is if we had support and a way to hold them accountable because in the end, we are human too. No one deserves to be treated as less. If the government could let us be, these men won’t feel as much powerful as they feel now. MALAIKA* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“I love my boyfriend. So much. But because he also knows I love him, he treats me so badly. Sometimes he comes back from work and beats me up really bad for no reason. I take it because I don’t have a choice. I don't have anywhere to go because even when I meet my brother on the side of the road, he acts like he doesn't know me because ‘I’m a gay disgrace’ in his words. So I stay. Just like I stayed in my previous relationship till I lost a finger. It is what it is”. CELINE* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“When you lead a life like mine, you have to choose your own battles correctly because you know deep down you have no support. Many of us went and stayed with men we didn’t know much during the pandemic because it was survival over anything. I was raped daily and forced to do ugly things and I couldn’t even talk to anyone because at the end of the day, I was fed”. ALICE* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“Being the feminine one, I have to submit to my man. whatever he wants, he is the man. I can’t deny him his rights. At the end of the day, he still loves me and that’s what matters”. RENAH* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“I think at this point I have internalized violence to be apart of my love life. I have not been with anyone who has not abused me. It sucks but I can't fight back because I know I can’t win. It has gotten worse in the pandemic but there is no one to talk to. I have heard about therapy but its really expensive. I have accepted my fate”. LARYN* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.
“This is a very hard position to be in. First, we don't really have support centers to help us process and get support for being victims of intimate partner violence in our community. Some of us who have tried to share, we have been alienated and stigmatized but this is a real problem that we can’t choose to keep ignoring. We need platforms like this to speak up” MAYA* Names have been changed because of the stigma and shame around the topic.
*The names of my collaborators have been changed to protect them.