EYES WIDE SHUT
by Fatima Gaskin
As I sat in the backseat of the police car, handcuffed and sitting in the most awkward sideways position, I knew my marriage was over. My throat was sore from being choked out. The scratches on my arms burned. I closed my eyes and sighed. The one thing I would not…could not tolerate had transpired. This man, my husband, my happily ever after put his hands on me. Domestic violence had broken up my fairly new marriage and forever changed my life. I knew there was no going back. Violence against my person was one of my….things. I, unfortunately had been in violent situations often enough that I knew I would not live a life of worrying about
about being hit, or actually being hit. I never suspected that this would happen in my household. Sure, I had been in some arguments with my husband, but never had they been violent. I had heard plenty of stories of domestic abuse and said I that would never…could never happen to me. Why did this happen? I wasn’t rich, I wasn’t poor, I wasn’t famous, butI wasn’t unknown. Domestic violence can happen to anyone. Man, woman, child, black, brown, white, gay, and straight can be a victim or perpetrator. Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or family violence. (safehorizon.org) For me, it had all started with an argument that escalated. Instead of the normal course of action of my husband and I exchanging words, however heated, physical violence resulted. My husband pushed me on the ground and I got off the floor and punched him in the face. I ended up on the floor with his hands around my throat, I lost