Pre Migration Experience:
Nina came to Australia about 28 years ago. She was born in Argentina. When she was 14 years old her parents agreed to give her as a wife to an Italian born man who was 26 years old and had been living in Argentina for about 15 years. When Nina married, she went to live with her new husband. On the first night, he beat her so badly that she bruised all over. Distressed she ran to her mother's house to tell her what happened and to show her what her husband had done to her. Nina’s mother slapped her and told her not to ever come back home like that. Her mother blamed her and ordered her to stop complaining and to start learning the house chores to make her husband happy. From that day Nina’s life became a misery. She started to have nightmares. She became more and more depressed each day. Nina did not have anywhere to go for support.

Because her husband had a workshop annexed to the house, he was able to watch her every move. She was treated like a servant or a slave. Nina could not understand why her husband would not sleep with her in their house. He would make any excuses and would slap her because she was asking to many questions. He told her that he did not have to answer to a crazy woman. Nina was suffering headaches, she would hear horrible noises, she could not sleep. She was taking antidepressants and cried constantly. Nina could not concentrate and was forgetful.When Nina went to see a doctor he referred her to a psychiatrist. From then onwards she really believed that she was crazy.

Australian Experience: After 4 years of marriage the husband informed her that the family were moving to Australia. Her husband would travel to Argentina frequently. Once he came back saying that a very good friend of his was going to stay with them until they could get their own house. When Nina saw the woman with a girl that was the same age as her daughter she could not believe the resemblance of the two girlsNina confided to her best friend and they figured out what happened. This man was living two lives. When Nina confronted her husband, he was so angry that he broke two of her fingers. She was admitted to hospital and the nurses referred her to a women’s refuge. Her husband had threatened that if she ever left him, she would never see her daughters again. Nina returned to him. Soon after she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The husband forced her to sign an admission form. When she was back to the matrimonial home the husband continued to abuse her, blaming her mental state for his behaviour. At one point he tried to force her to take medication.

Reaching Out for Help:Nina sought help from IWDVS who assisted her to go back to a women's refuge. She was a very scared, emotional, frightened, and tearful. It was extremely difficult to work with Nina in order to make her believe in herself and to reduce her fear. After 29 years of abuse her self-esteem and strength has been shattered. It was very difficult to make her believe that we understood what she went through and that she was not mentally ill. We tried to help her to realise that she could still recover and live. With our assistance and support, Nina managed to find strength. She rented a small place and shares her days with her daughters and grandchildren. She will fully recover.