06/12/2025
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ข ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ
Womenโs rights crusader Kilena Mapenai has opened up about her traumatic experience with intimate partner violence at just 18 years old, hoping her story will give strength to survivors still suffering in silence.
In her post, Kilena recalls being trapped in an abusive relationship during her first year in universityโmanipulated, controlled, and constantly gaslit.
It was a unit she was studying, Introduction to Gender-Based Violence, that finally gave her the language to understand that what she was experiencing was not love, but violence.
The breaking point came when her partner assaulted her, smashed her phone, and locked her inside for a full day.
Her cries for help went unanswered by neighbours who viewed such violence as a โprivate matterโโa normalization she says is rooted in harmful patriarchal attitudes.
Kilena survived, but she reminds the public that many victims do not.
As the country marks Intimate Partner Violence Awareness, she stands with survivors and issues a strong call to action: strengthen reporting pathways, protect and believe victims, dismantle cultures that normalize violence, and demand a justice system that responds with compassion and urgency.
Kilenaโs powerful testimony is a reminder that intimate partner violence is not a private issue but a national crisisโand speaking out is the first step toward ending it.
