Victims of Domestic Violence and People with Disabilities Deserve Justice
Look into the eyes of a victim of domestic violence—especially one who also has a disability—and you will see a story society often refuses to hear. Too many of us are used, abused, dismissed, and silenced by the very systems that are supposed to protect us.
I am a second-generation survivor of domestic violence. The man I once loved and married did not love me for who I was. He used me—emotionally, financially, and legally. He stole my lump-sum cash, abused me, and struggled with alcoholism for 13 years of our marriage. His family witnessed his behavior. They saw his anger and his violence, and instead of protecting me, they told me not to call the police. I was left to survive his alcohol-fueled abuse alone.
He gained his residency, his green card, and eventually his citizenship during our marriage. And when he was done using me, he cheated on me with a coworker, manipulated the legal system, and kidnapped our children through the family court process—with the help of a paid family-law attorney. Meanwhile, the attorneys I trusted to be my voice failed me. They did not protect me. They did not advocate for me.
The most painful part is this:
His own aunt was murdered by her husband in India. His family demands justice for her death—yet they punished me for speaking the truth about their son’s abusive behavior. They protected him, the abuser, and treated me as if my safety, my disability, and my rights did not matter.
Where is my justice?
Where is the justice for my children?
I have never been an alcoholic. I have never hurt anyone. Yet I was treated as if my life, my truth, and my voice were disposable.
No victim—and no child—should ever be treated like their voice does not matter. Family courts, judges, and attorneys must stop abusing their positions and their power. Money should never outweigh the truth. Judges should protect the vulnerable, not reward the abuser. Attorneys should fight for their clients, not abandon them.
This is why we must come together.
We must demand reform.
We must require oversight.
We must protect victims of domestic violence and parents with disabilities from a system that routinely fails them.
Our children deserve better. True victims deserve better. And together, we can change the family-court system so no one else is silenced the way I was.