She’d snatch my phone every chance she got, always poking around in it, reading my messages, and checking who I’d called. It felt like I had no space to breathe, no privacy at all. My phone wasn’t just a device anymore; it was a leash, and she held the other end tight. Freedom? Forget about it.
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

Mobile Phone

She’d snatch my phone every chance she got.

Didn’t matter what I was doing—texting, scrolling, even just holding it. If she saw it, she’d take it. “What are you hiding?” she’d say, like there had to be something.

She’d poke around in it, reading my messages, checking who I’d called, scanning through my apps like she was looking for evidence of something that didn’t exist.

I learned not to react. If I snatched it back, she’d call me defensive. If I got angry, she’d say I was guilty. So I just sat there, watching while she went through everything.

It felt like I had no space to breathe. No privacy at all.

My phone wasn’t just a device anymore; it was a leash, and she held the other end tight.

Freedom? Forget about it.

Even when I had it in my hands, it didn’t feel like mine. Because at any moment, she could take it away.

share this story:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Email

More stories

UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

He would put a chair in the kitchen and make me sit on it. If I refused, he would push me down and tie me to it.

He would make me tell him all the things I had done wrong that day. Then he would hit me for them.

If I couldn’t think of anything, he would call me a liar and lock me in there until I thought of something. I had to think of something even though I knew he was going to hit me.

Read More
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

He would make me drink, sometimes beer, other times something stronger, depending on his mood. I learned that even if I didn’t drink, he still got what he wanted.

Sometimes, it felt easier to just go along with it and numb myself, to be out of it rather than feel what he was doing.

Read More
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

He knew when I got paid on Fridays. The money would go straight into my bank account, but he’d make me go to the cashpoint to withdraw it.

I worked my butt off all week for that cash, but I never got to keep any of it. It felt like all my hard work was for nothing, like he was just using me so he could go to the pub.

Read More
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

He would put sleeping powder in my drink. I’d wake up confused, not knowing what happened or where I was. Sometimes, I’d also feel pain, you know, down there. Maybe it was a good thing in a way, because I wouldn’t remember what he did.

But it still left me feeling violated and scared.

Read More
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

The bastard made a sign out of cardboard, labeling me with the word ‘SLUT’, and forced me to parade down the street carrying it. I was so mad, humiliated. All because I spoke to another man? I couldn’t believe how cruel he could be.

After that, I was too ashamed to even leave the house. How dare he treat me like that? It was like he was trying to strip away everything. I won’t let him get away with it.

Read More
UNSEEN ECHOES - Objects of Domestic Abuse | Photography Project & Exhibition

I had this book where I wrote down everything she did, like my own secret diary. But she found it, and she burned it all. All my words, all my proof, gone.

I felt so small, like I couldn’t do anything to stop her or prove what she did.

Read More
Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Exhibitions. Project Updates. Stories. Plus More.