2023-10-14 05:00:00
Initially, it is a love story between two women which begins in a small Italian town.
Ariana remembers: “I met this woman in a bar. We hit it off straight away. At first we had fun.” But over time, the young woman realizes that her girlfriend has a big problem with alcohol. Arianna doesn’t always understand what’s going on in her friend’s head and suffers from her often unpredictable behavior. “All of a sudden, she gets angry because she thinks I said something once morest her, when I didn’t say anything.”explains Arianna.
The young woman feels humiliated and demeaned in public. Threats of suicide from his partner are recurring. Arianna feels responsible for her and stays in the relationship hoping the situation will improve, but the uneasiness grows. After several attempts to break up, the violence becomes physical. Arianna remembers: “Hehe had an iron bar and was trying to hit me. She was punching me and I managed to run away and hide in the garden.”
Arianna takes advantage of a job opportunity in Brussels to gain some distance. “In this small Italian town, all her friends supported her, everyone believed her side of the story.”she said, before adding: “A homosexual couple, in a small town where we are the only couple… it’s difficult to ask for help if we are already the ‘weird ones’ of the village.”
According to a survey by Tels Quel and the Observatory of AIDS and Sexualities, in non-heterosexual relationships, 46% of people experience or have experienced violence. In Belgium, there is no specific service for cases of violence in non-heterosexual relationships.
However, a toll-free number specializing in listening to victims of domestic violence is in place. This is a free and anonymous number, accessible every day, at any time: 0800 300 30.
1697340358
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