Gabbe Rowland is a survivor of domestic violence and feels empowered to tell her story in hopes of helping others.
FALMOUTH – Gabbe Rowland’s week of hell began on Saturday, June 29, 2013.
During that week, her boyfriend, the man she loved and planned to marry, humiliated her, threatened to kill her, beat her with a belt, hit her repeatedly in the face, tried to strangle her, shot her up with heroin and forced her to have have oral sex with a dog.
At the end of the week, finally out of his control, she called the police and pressed charges. He was arrested and jailed to await trial.
Last week, eight months later, after a jury trial at Falmouth District Court, her 24-year-old abuser was convicted on seven charges, including four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a belt and a hypodermic needle, and sentenced to six years in prison for what he did to her.
According to one law enforcement official, the sentence was a sizable one for a district court case where 2 ½ years is usually the maximum sentence.
But this was no average case.
Most domestic violence victims do not want to talk about what happened to them because of fear or shame. They do not want their names to be public.
Naming the Victim
Media, out of respect for victims, customarily withhold victims’ names, in particular victims of rape or domestic violence.
But Rowland, who is 25, wanted her name used in this story. In fact, she told her story on only one condition, that her accuser not be named.
“This is about me. I will not be referring to him by name,” she said. “This is a way for me to heal and for me to continue.”
She recognizes now that what he did to her and what he took from her—her sense of pride and self-esteem. Now she is taking back control of her life.
This is her story, not his.
She said after she was able to leave her batterer and press charges, she had two options.
“To totally fall apart, to turn to drugs and enter the downward spiral that he was in,” she said.
Or to do the opposite. “To share my story and reach out to help other victims. To put my story out there for other survivors to relate to,” she explained.
She chose the latter.
Purchase Required
To read the rest of this one Longform story, please purchase access. The price for this one story is $3.00. To access all of our Longform stories, choose a $5.00 monthly membership or a $50.00 yearly membership.
