Profile of an Abused Woman

So often when our culture thinks about women who have been abused, they think that they are weak, fragile or self-destructing women. But the truth is that women who are abused are often very successful, strong and gregarious women.  We are often empathetic individuals with a heart to help the hurting. In fact, I believe that it is our compassionate hearts that lead us into these abusive situations.

Since most abusers are also victims of abuse, we want to help them feel loved, we want to show them that life can be different, and if you’re like me, I believed by being someone who showed them love and true kindness, that it would help heal their own pain and give them another chance at life.

But now I know that this was not my responsibility, nor my job. He needed to learn how to be happy and overcome on his own, but he chose not to.

In this TEDtalk, Leslie Morgan, a Harvard-educated magazine editor turned businesswoman, talks openly about her journey with abuse. She also admonishes the audience that if this cycle is going to change in our culture then we all need to break the silence, and educate other women and girls on the warning signs of abuse.