Walk away before it is too late! - Abuse survivor urges victims to flee evil spouses

A domestic abuse survivor who was knocked unconscious and left to die in a burning cane field, while she was pregnant with her partner's child, is imploring other women to leave abusive relationships before it's too late.

Now 43, Munchie* said she has survived unimaginable abuse, and is convinced that the brutal attacks have left her hobbled. Having to use a wheelchair for the last eight years, she expressed gratitude for life, and is determined to use her voice to help other abused women.

"Don't sit in any abusive relationship," Munchie said. "Mi a beg unno fi leave because yuh will a get the lick and don't know say yuh a get internal damage, and one day yuh get up and just can't move."

Growing up in Trelawny, Munchie lived with her father and stepmother before moving in with a friend. She dreamt of becoming a guidance counsellor, but was forced to leave high school after struggling academically. In her early 20s, she met a man she thought was her prince charming. But that ended quickly once she became pregnant.

"Mi get beating from now until tomorrow and I didn't have to do him anything," she said. "Him kick mi down with the belly, throw hot soup on mi, and one day he used something and knock mi out and threw mi in a cane field and light it a fire."

A passing farmer rescued her and carried her to safety, but the violence at home didn't stop there.

"Him (her spouse) lick mi with the car and mi jump up and run off," she claimed. "Him lick mi and just drive off. Mi never go doctor because the lick never feel hard."

Though she managed to escape from the abusive situation and returned to her father's home, Munchie is convinced years of untreated injuries took their toll. She said that her injuries, combined with the long hours spent standing while she worked in a wholesale, literally sent her crashing to the floor.

"Mi notice say mi foot dem start get weak after a while and mi start drop. Mi go doctor and a deh suh mi realise seh is because mi never take care of miself from dem time deh. The lick weh mi get did a affect mi all this time and mi never know," she said.

"This man mash mi up for the rest of mi life because mi a hard-working girl for mi children and mi see mi can't move again," she said. Munchie said doctors at the Kingston Public and Falmouth hospitals told her that she might regain her mobility with phsiotherapy.

Despite the trauma, Munchie, a mother of five, refuses to let pain silence her. She now speaks out for women caught in similar cycles of abuse.

"The abuser nuh normally change. Don't watch the apologies because dem nuh normally stop," she said.

"Just seek help and move because it nuh worth it and it a guh affect even your children in the end, so girlies mi a beg unno walk away." Today, she lives in a one-bedroom dwelling with her three youngest children, ages 15, 11, and six.

Deputy Superintendent of Police and Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Intervention Centres Jaqueline Dillion says persons affected by domestic violence should make contact with the police who will assist them.

"The centres assist persons to file their report, get court orders and go for counselling. We also make contact with the national centers to see if they have spaces available to take in these persons. They can also contact the Bureau of Gender Affairs however they are usually ask to make a police report first and we will make an assessment of the case and from there we will work with the victims to determine the best thing for them," she said.