Introduction:
Inti woke up. She walked into the hall. Her brother had broken the new phone she had installed, cut the wires and left it outside her bedroom door. This was the last of many incidents where he had broken things of hers without an explanation, and made her feel unsafe in her family home. The thought of seeing him brought a knot to her stomach and set her heart pounding. She could feel that any day now the broken 'thing' would be herself.
Background:
Inti had moved back home after her bachelor's degree to save money while looking for a graduate position. Her mother had moved in with her new boyfriend and the only person left in the London flat was her brother, who took unkindly to this intrusion in the place he now considered his own castle.
Her mother was not sympathetic to her pleas that something was awfully wrong in the home environment.
One day, after her brother asked her for money and she refused, he became angry and pushed her down the stairs. Shocked and stunned at the situation, Inti called her mother sobbing. She knew he was taking cocaine as he often joked about it in front of his friends, who were always in the house. She put the violence down to this addictive behaviour, not realizing that violence is rooted in misogyny and not addiction. Her mother refused to listen and told her it was not true. Not losing hope, Inti decided to call a family friend who run away from a violent partner. Laurita listened and said "you must leave as soon as possible", and comforted her, saying she believed her every word. Inti did not know how to leave or where to go. She stayed, hoping it was a one off event.
The next time, it was worse. Over a minor detail (not wanting to close the kitchen door while cooking) he became irate at her. He threatened her if she did not do what he said, and locked her in the kitchen, violently slamming the door in her face, breaking parts of the wall. She told him she would call the police. He mocked her, sarcastically saying she should stop pretending in order to manipulate him. Her hands shaking and her heart in her mouth, she called the police and reported a threat of violence.
As he realized the police would come, he cleaned the house and became incredibly calm. He told them she was being crazy and making it all up. They asked her to pack a small bag, took her away and told her there was nothing they could do, but that she should go to a friend's house and should not come back. They told her that they had received various calls from neighbours, but that in this instance they had no evidence to build a case.
Once at her friend's house, she felt safe and protected.
But her future felt uncertain, she didn't know what she would do next.
Professional challenge:
What could Inti do? There were no jobs, there was no money, and her family were not being supportive of her decision to call the police on her brother. They did not believe that there was a real threat of violence. They did not understand her position.
She could only rely on her friend's hospitality for so long. Her self-esteem was in shatters and she had no access to most of her clothes which she had left behind in her family home.
She signed on to unemployment benefits and took any job she could find. She was a chugger for a few months, asking people on the street to donate to charity. This was bad enough in the summer, but worse in autumn and those cold winter months. Although she was succesful in achieving donations, she became sick from the constant exposure to the cold weather, and had to quit. She was paid for the time she'd put in. In her next job, she wasn't so lucky. She tried for an office assistant position at a local computing firm. However, when she arrived, she was given a mobile phone and asked to cold call several people to pay for and attend a computing course. She quickly realized that this company was fraudulent. After a month of working, she was told she had not brought enough customers and was not paid.
Then, she moved city, found a job in a deli which paid just enough and she moved into a flat with another friend. This small income, the roof over hear head and and the presence of a kind friend, finally allowed her to think about her next move professionally and to consider her future.
In none of these jobs was she able to put her skills from her bachelor's degree to use. The jobs she really wanted required a Master's degree, which would in turn require time and money. Would she be able to find alternative training? Would she be able to move forward in her education, and if so, would she be able to work and study at the same time?
Personal Challenge:
Unfortunately, her friend was not able to keep living in that flat, and the landlord moved a stranger into her friend's old room - an unpleasant, aggressive man with personal problems.
Inti felt like the shadow of violence was following her arround.