ix years ago, I found myself caught in the throes of an abusive relationship. It was barely half a year in, and the violence culminated on a night when my ex-boyfriend hit me so hard, I was hospitalised for three weeks. I had a brain haemorrhage from him strangling me and slamming my skull against the wall; my left-hand bone snapped into two when I tried to block his torrential punches; my nose, eye socket and facial bones were smashed, and I required reconstructive surgery, including a plate for my broken eye socket
