The Origins of See the Triumph
One of our earliest interview participants had been horrifically beaten and verbally abused by her former boyfriend and the father of her child. This woman told us how people have asked her if she is embarrassed by her history of having been abused, and here’s how she responded to that question:
In listening to and reading the words of the survivors in our studies, time and again we heard the theme of people triumphing over their pasts and creating new, fulfilling, healthy lives and relationships. This stood so far in contrast to the prevailing stereotypes and stigma that surround domestic violence, such as that people “bring it on” themselves, that they somehow enjoy the abuse, and that people move from one violent relationship to another and never break the pattern of abuse.
Certainly, the journey to overcoming abuse and its related stigma is not an easy one. Many of the participants in our study continued to feel that their past abuse had some negative impacts on their lives that they continued to find challenging. However, the biggest theme that came through our participants’ stories was that they had moved forward and were triumphant over the abuse they experienced in their lives.
Our goal in starting See the Triumph was to share the inspirational stories that our participants shared with us. We hope these stories and the messages these survivors wanted to share with others will offer a positive, more triumphant vision of current and former survivors of domestic violence. We also want to provide a forum for people to share their own stories of triumph and connect with others who are triumphing over abuse. We wish to show that people who have been abused do not need to live their lives defined by those experiences, but rather that they can build healthy, positive, inspiring lives and relationships.
- “The only thing that bothers me about it is that other people can’t see the triumph in it. Because to me this is a treasure to be at this point in my life, in this stage, and it be beginning. Some people don’t even start to realize that they have the issues or start dealing with them until they get to this point.”
In listening to and reading the words of the survivors in our studies, time and again we heard the theme of people triumphing over their pasts and creating new, fulfilling, healthy lives and relationships. This stood so far in contrast to the prevailing stereotypes and stigma that surround domestic violence, such as that people “bring it on” themselves, that they somehow enjoy the abuse, and that people move from one violent relationship to another and never break the pattern of abuse.
Certainly, the journey to overcoming abuse and its related stigma is not an easy one. Many of the participants in our study continued to feel that their past abuse had some negative impacts on their lives that they continued to find challenging. However, the biggest theme that came through our participants’ stories was that they had moved forward and were triumphant over the abuse they experienced in their lives.
Our goal in starting See the Triumph was to share the inspirational stories that our participants shared with us. We hope these stories and the messages these survivors wanted to share with others will offer a positive, more triumphant vision of current and former survivors of domestic violence. We also want to provide a forum for people to share their own stories of triumph and connect with others who are triumphing over abuse. We wish to show that people who have been abused do not need to live their lives defined by those experiences, but rather that they can build healthy, positive, inspiring lives and relationships.