VILLAINS in Ink

She was expected to care for her mother while still a child, then judged for struggling with responsibilities that were never hers to carry.

Abuse began in childhood and continued in a relationship where she was made to doubt herself. She wants the blame placed where it belongs.

After disclosing sexual abuse as a child, she needed adults to protect and believe her. Instead, she was treated as the problem.

An abusive teenage relationship left her carrying other people's labels. Those words never described her worth.

A teacher humiliated her and dismissed her future. She was a child who needed support, not predictions about what she could never achieve.

She describes a relationship in which abuse and manipulation made her question her own reality.

Growing up around addiction and instability taught her to expect criticism rather than care. She wants the child behind those reactions to be understood.

She was groomed at fifteen by someone within her extended family circle, yet was made to carry the blame.

Setting boundaries around her children became a reason for relatives to cast her as difficult.

Years of criticism in a relationship left her with words that continued to hurt after they were spoken.

She describes neglect, sexual violence and years of being misunderstood. She wants people to see the person behind the reactions they judged.

After being raped by a classmate, she was called a liar and became the target of rumours.

While dealing with bereavement, family illness and a painful relationship, she was judged for needing care herself.

Questioning her faith became a reason for her husband to call her evil and blame her for his choices.

After violence from her uncle, she found that relatives sided with him rather than supporting her.

Her distress was dismissed as overreacting or not trying. She needed understanding of what was happening beneath the surface.

Sexual assault was met with judgement about her choices and addiction. She wants the responsibility for the assault placed on the person who did it.

Leaving an abusive relationship brought more blame rather than recognition of what she had survived.

Other people knew her partner as funny and likable. That made it harder for her to be believed about his abuse.

While living with severe illness, she experienced repeated sexual violence from her partner and disbelief from people around her.

She put her savings and work into a home, then found her contribution and claim to it dismissed.

She describes a marriage marked by abuse, loss and betrayal, and the difficulty of getting away.

Being labelled dramatic made it harder for her needs to be heard, including when she gave birth without the support she needed.

She describes separation from her children and a struggle to have her account of abuse heard within family court proceedings.

After reporting sexual assault by her boss, she faced a court outcome and a response that left her feeling discredited.

Disclosing sexual abuse did not bring the protection she needed. She wants the child who was left behind to be seen.

A relationship that began with grooming became years of abuse. She wants to be able to speak openly about what she survived.

A mother shares the impact of sexual assault on her daughter and the grief of losing her. This account is told in the mother's voice.

She was judged for her anger while the behaviour that caused it was overlooked.

Disability and differences in how she moved and learned became targets for people who should have been friends.

A partner reduced her to a rating and a list of ways she was not his ideal. She was more than his assessment of her appearance.

Abuse in childhood and later relationships was followed by labels that blamed her for its impact.