Shelter for child survivors of abuse in Malaysia

Suvivor Story: Nani

Nani was 16 years old when she followed her sister, who was her sole caregiver and who was a survivor of domestic violence, and sought assistance from WAO. Like many girls at her age, Nani appeared to be a circumstances of violence coming from a family where relationships were broken and domestic violence was rampant. However, after weeks of admission in WAO's refuge, and through Play Therapy and counseling, social workers realized that Nani carried a past which was darker than she had revealed initially. 

After weeks of building rapport, Nani revealed that she too had endured violence from her abusive brother in-law whom she lived with. Besides the physical violence, whenever he was not satisfied with the chores which she had performed at home, she was also sexually abused by him, and raped repeatedly without ever telling her sister about her experiences. During the course of her abuse, she was frequently locked up and denied food when she refused to succumb to his sexual advances. Nani managed to escape one fine day and ran to her mother's house ( her mother had separated from her father). She then reached out to her sister and they managed to escape together to seek help from WAO. 

Throughout her stay at WAO, Nani was assisted by WAO social workers in following up with her police case, where WAO advocated and ensured the case was managed with due diligence, and that resulted her perpetrator to be charged and found guilty and subsequently imprisoned. WAO also ensured that Nani's psychological needs were seen to especially during the difficult period of having to undergo invasive medical screenings to document the rape and sexual assaults she had experienced. As expected, children who experience what Nani experienced often undergo bouts of grief, anger, loneliness and suicidal tendencies.

With WAO's assistance, Nani was encouraged to continuously attend counseling sessions to help her deal with PTSD of being a victim of sexual abuse at such a tender age. When Nani's sister checked out of WAO's refuge, she was then offered a place in our Child Care Center (CCC) to ensure her continued needs were taken care of and that she had a healthy and better environment to study and live a new life. Nani lived in the CCC for two years, completed her secondary education and managed to pass her exams which enabled her to be enrolled in a higher institution despite all the hurdles and challenges she had to go through. WAO is so proud of Nani because she has managed to put all her challenges aside and strive to be the best that she can be.