This was a family of six brothers, three boys and three girls in which verbal abuse was lived at home when the head of household (that was the father) screamed and commanded. When he would come home drunk there were days when the two of them would argue about that and he would hit Mom. The young children we were saw that abuse, and personally it hurt, but there was nothing I could do. Things were like this continuously. The father was also a womanizer and Mom had to put up with that too. One day, in her anger, she decided to leave the house. But she gave up on that decision since we children didn’t want to leave. So, she stayed in that martyrdom until we grew up. In a new discussion and showdown, I happened to listen to them. When my dad went to hit my mom, was when I first confronted him. I told him that he would never touch her again; that I would not let him. There began the change to no hitting.
“The hitting stopped, but the verbal abuse and drunkenness didn’t.”
So, I grew up in a sexist man’s family. Which brought me to many encounters with my dad and brothers because I was against it. I didn’t let men dominate. For me and before my eyes it’s always been about gender equality. There’s a lot of work to be done in this and many other countries.
There are many stories and I represent a part of them. I’d like sessions about stories like this in different cities. Because even in this country there is a lot of psychological mistreatment, and abuse. And many out of fear don’t talk or don’t know there’s help. Thank you in advance for taking the time to listen and read a part of our lives. “God bless you always.”
Storyteller P Pérez did not provide a biography.
