A woman in the North who spent more than a decade enduring physical and sexual abuse from her partner escaped this week after being traced by a social worker and police and rushed to hospital for medical care and counselling. The survivor, a mother of three, told Empower Pacific officials she was routinely beaten, locked in a room and even forced to prepare dinner for her family immediately after attacks, a grim example of coercive control that went on for years.
Empower Pacific social worker Adi Selai Ritova said the woman’s decade-long ordeal only came to light after her mother grew worried when she missed work for an entire week. “The woman was locked in a room and beaten, only to be asked to return to household duties as if nothing had happened,” Ritova said. At times the partner took her to a nearby river and beat her again; when officers and social workers found her she bore black and blue bruises across her body and face.
Ritova said the survivor’s grandchildren, who were at the partner’s house, warned that something terrible was happening and helped the team locate her. With the assistance of police, the woman fled by jumping from the house veranda into a police vehicle, and was immediately taken to hospital where she received medical attention and counselling, Ritova said. The swift police response and coordination with the NGO were credited with preventing further harm.
The case highlights the layered ways gender-based violence can be hidden inside homes and families. Ritova described how, despite repeated physical and sexual assaults, the survivor was compelled to carry on household responsibilities, a tactic that survivors and abusers alike use to conceal abuse and normalise harm. The woman’s status in a de-facto relationship and the presence of children complicated her ability to seek help for years, Ritova said.
Empower Pacific is supporting the woman’s immediate needs and advocates for stronger protection mechanisms for survivors in the region. Ritova stressed that survivors require safe shelter, medical and psychological care, and legal protection to escape abusive situations and rebuild their lives. The organisation’s intervention in this case brought a long-running abuse to an end, but she warned it was just one example of a wider problem.
“This case showed just how real gender-based violence is in the north,” Ritova said, urging community members and authorities to remain vigilant and provide timely support to those at risk. The survivor remains under medical care and receiving counselling as agencies work to ensure her safety and access to services.
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