The Courage to Speak
Anne Klaar, the service manager for violence against women at the Estonian Social Insurance Board’s Victim Support Department, writes about how abuse in a relationship usually does not start suddenly, but creeps in unnoticed. It is like fog that gradually thickens. Her text honestly and compassionately explains why recognising abuse is difficult and why asking for help is one of the hardest – yet also one of the bravest – steps a victim can take.
I Never Meant to Hurt You
The writer Lauri Räpp has touched in his work on topics that are often passed over in silence. In one of his texts he describes the mindset of a perpetrator of domestic violence – not from his own, but from his father’s point of view. An honest and painful look into what goes on in the head of the abuser helps to better understand how complicated and layered the real nature of this topic is.
By the River of Care
The writer and semiotician Valdur Mikita connects the theme of caring with Estonian landscapes and the sense of nature. His reflections suggest that domestic violence is not only expressed between people but also in our attitude toward nature. The way we protect or destroy it speaks about us as a society. Mikita’s ideas combine philosophy and tradition, showing that caring is a fundamental value of life.