Woman Shares Domestic Violence Struggle & Sends A Powerful Message

Which still stick with me, almost an entire week later.

You see, in the video, it is clear that Murphy is speaking from her heart. Her pain is palpable, her tears are real and fresh, and she is clearly distraught and hurt and confused. But instead of shutting down — instead of shutting the world out — Murphy decided to publicize one of her darkest moments of her life. Murphy chose to turn on the camera.

“I’ve been thinking long and hard and contemplating whether to post this video. And I was, and I wasn’t. And I was, and I wasn’t. I finally decided after a lot of thinking that, yeah, I need to do this for me and my children. I need to raise awareness for other women out there.”

Murphy then went on to explain her story.

Murphy had been in a relationship for three-and-a-half years. A relationship with the father of her children, the man of her dreams, and a man who “was the love of [her] life.” But things changed when, two years into their relationship, this man cheated on Murphy.

“I found out he cheated on me with one of his clients…my world was turned upside down as you can imagine…I tried to forgive him and I gave him another chance. I took him back. And unfortunately I found out that he did it again…so I went to the gym and confronted him. And he denied it, of course, and when I threw his phone he punched me in the face.”

This wasn’t the first time Murphy’s ex-boyfriend had struck her.

“Last year he split my head open, [and] at an event prior to that as well he punched me and I had a black eye.”

But it was the last.

And while these details may be particular to Murphy and her situation, Murphy’s story is not unique. Unfortunately, the same story happens all over the world countless times each and every day. In fact, according to Safe Horizon — a non-profit agency which aids children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse — “1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.” That is both a horrifying statistic and one we should not – and cannot — accept. “No man has any right to put his hand on a woman,” Murphy explains. “No man at all…even once it’s unacceptable.”

Murphy’s advice to other women who are in a similar position as she was is simple.

“If anyone out there has gone through something similar to what I’ve gone through, you need to find the courage and get away from anything that’s as unhealthy as violence. Go to your friends and family, people who love you, people who care about you, and talk to them…you have to walk away because more often than not, if it happens once, it’ll happen again.”