Dear Queenie,
My husband abuses me and our children. I know you will tell me to leave him before he really injures someone badly, but I love him and I don’t want to take the children away from their daddy. I have tried to get him to go to counselling with me, but he says there’s nothing wrong with him so why bother.
Queenie, help!—Abused wife
Dear Wife,
I simply cannot understand how anyone can love someone who abuses them, but I hear that excuse all the time. I guess it has something to do with the way they were brought up, that they come to accept abuse as some weird expression of love.
The only help I can give you is my usual advice to abuse victims: GET OUT! If you need help doing so, call Safe Haven (office tel. 9277, 24-hour hotline number: 9333 or (721) 523-6400, e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Facebook: SafeHavenSt.Maarten).
There is a remote possibility that your leaving might convince your husband that there is something wrong with him and motivate him to get help, but do not count on that happening.
