Nelisiwe Sibiya

“I am passionate about storytelling, I am a black woman and I know the hardships we face. I am excited about the people involved in this project. Some survivors of these atrocities, some having encountered abuse in their families, some in relationships - we all know of someone that has been abused and this is why we need to stand up and do something”

“I remember it so clearly. I know the pain, trust me, I really know that pain and I have been able to survive to be the strong person that I am today. I used music as an escape and, at some point, worked up enough courage to speak about it so I could start healing. I want to help others who, like me, have endured abuse because they are poor or are dependent on their abusers”

“I've been abused. I was still very young and my younger sister and I were abused. It was more of physical abuse and I know with my sister, it was more than that, because she had to do certain things in order for us not be kicked out of the house were staying in”

“You need to speak — the more I spoke about it the more things became clearer for me. The more I spoke the more I became honest with myself. That's how I began to heal. Not talking about it is one of the foremost reasons why women are depressed”

“You have to be determined to get out but that's also hard, because the abuse kills your willpower and sometimes you don't want to fight any more. It took me forever to get to a place where I could trust a man enough to date him because of everything I went through”

“The issue is we don't trust each other, especially as women. But the trick is, the first thing that really helps us get out of abusive situations and stay out, is to talk about it”

“I know it's hard because how do you even begin ... but find that one person and tell them what you are going through and show them your scars”

“I realised that there are young people who want me to mentor them and I don't know where to start but ... Me sharing these stories bit by bit, it's a way of me healing, it's a process. I look at my life now at the age of 29 and I think of the 20 years of my life. When I'm finally healed, people will hear everything ... people will hear everything that has happened in my life”

“When we were staying in Joburg. We were staying with my aunt and things were not nice there. There was a lot of abuse that I never even spoke about ... they ended up throwing us out of the house and we went to stay in a shack”

“It was a secret, in fact I only told my family after I stopped sleeping in the bathrooms because ... when I started getting sick I realised it was because I was sleeping in the bathroom”

“I'd have to go and sleep in the bathroom before I'd start working. That happened for six months and no-one knew. There was another woman who used to work in the bathrooms who eventually started leaving a blanket for me”

“I chose a long time ago that I will not post anything that will make others feel less than who they are, because social media plays a huge role in people's lives”

“If there is one thing I pray about every day it’s always being humble and always respectful. I pray no amount of money or fame will change that”

“I do not care if you have all the money in the world,but if you do not have respect, wow, I feel sorry for you”