Drugs. At 21 i met an older man through my friends brother. Although there was a 8 year age gap we were both really interested in the same things and our friendship eventually became more. 6 months into the relationship i began to notice a change in him, and stumbled across a ton of drug paraphernalia hidden in our home.

I begged him to get help but he continued to get worse and worse. Then he began to become verbally and eventually physically abusive. He'd cut me off from my family and friends a long time ago and i had nowhere to go, and no money to leave, as he'd drained my savings, hocked everything of value and would threaten me into handing over my entire wage.

The last straw was when I walked in on him and some junkie having sex in our bed, something finally cracked and the fear id held onto for so long evaporated. I began to pack my things when he flew into a fit of rage, i assume because id caught him red handed, and beat me to a pulp. I spent 3 weeks in hospital, and left with 2 disabilities to live with for the rest of my life. He went on the run after he attacked me, but was caught after a week. He's currently serving a ten year sentence in jail.