TAMPA, Fla. — Every day women and men across the country are impacted by domestic violence. In a lot of these situations, the abuse seems to “come out of nowhere.” The signs can be subtle, but being able to recognize them and make changes if necessary is still critical.
“He was different, he made me feel something I hadn’t felt in other relationships," Rosalind Daniels, a survivor of domestic violence, said. "We did everything together. I just didn’t see it, I loved the guy. I was willing to give him my life."
Daniels told ABC Action News her abuser attacked her as she got out of her car on March 16. Her jaw was broken so badly that she suffered through three different infections.
For mind and body, the healing process continues for Daniels, but she looks back now and sees very clearly.
“It was the little things. They were big things, but to me, they were little. And I missed them,” Daniels said. “The way he controlled my every move, he knew my accounts, my passwords. The way he would snap at certain things. I just had never seen it coming because that first time was the last time.”
That behavior lines up with what mental health expert Natasha Pierre said about warning signs, that many people in these situations find themselves controlled and isolated.
“Pay attention to all the attempts to isolate you from your family and friends. That’s an indicator that someone is positioning you to have no support," Pierre said.
But what Daniels' abuser couldn’t have fathomed was that through all of this, he was giving her power. Power to be an advocate.
Daniels spent time with the Haven at Hope Villages, where she’s been able to not only recover but help other women do just as she did: survive domestic violence.
“We as women think we need someone to love us, but in reality, we need to learn to love ourselves," Daniels said. "Loving ourselves don’t hurt us, it doesn’t hit us, verbally abuse us. It’s not how you fall, it’s how you get up, and I have definitely gotten up."
Daniels pressed charges against her abuser. She spoke glowingly about her legal representation and how difficult it is, even in a courtroom, to face him, but she is steadfast in confronting it.
