A writer, Benison Christopher, on Saturday, urged women in abusive situations to be courageous while urging Nigerians to support them.

Mr Christopher gave the advice at her book presentation, titled ‘A Place Without Heroes’, in Lagos.

She said women in abusive situations needed to be given all the support, adding that they carry disproportionate burdens,often without recognition.

“I would advise them to be courageous. Being a victim of abuse myself, I know it takes a lot of courage. First, to own up to it because society, when you come up and say that you have been abused, it looks like you may have done something wrong or you may have made poor choices.

“There’s a little bit of victim-blaming in that regard, but I am hoping that every woman who is going through an abusive situation gets the courage to live above it.

“I am aso hoping they rise above it, and be able to look inwards, to find that thing that makes them unique in the world, and be able to turn their pain into purpose and passion,” she said.

She also added that women in such situations should strive to be better and more impactful.

“I hope that they’re able to find themselves and become better for it and become really impactful as a result of the pain that they’ve gone through,” she said.

While discussing the book, Christopher said that it was not just fictional creations, but mirrors of the people who were known.

“The book holds up a mirror to our society, one that does not flatter, but reveals that we are flawed. We are compromised and broken in ways we rarely admit, yet we are resilient and capable of quiet, astonishing acts of courage.

“These are not stories of caped saviours swooping in to fix everything; they are stories of ordinary people, often afraid, sometimes selfish, sometimes remarkably brave, caught in extraordinary circumstances.

“They are not just fictional creations; they are mirrors of the people we know, and perhaps even of ourselves,”she said.

Mr Christopher also said that she wrote the book during her vulnerable season.

She added that one of  the company’s immediate focuses is to support women escaping abusive situations.

She added that the goal of the event was, therefore, not merely to sell books, but also to fund change.

(NAN)