2006 11: When the guilty party is family

The Star online. News. Opinion. Sunday November 19, 2006

CASE 2

KARMI, 14, used to suffer physical abuse at the hands of her father and grandmother. She was beaten up countless times and even had chilli smeared on her face.

All that, however, would not have done as much damage to her as what her uncle tried to do when she was nine. At that time, she was alone in the car with him and they were on their way to a convenience store.

“I was not really close to him although we were on friendly terms. I was telling him about a fight with my sister where she bit me on the cheek. Suddenly, he groped my chest and asked if my sister had bitten me there," Karmi recalled.

“I didn’t expect that. My mind went blank and I said no. I saw him smirking and when we reached our destination, I ran out of the car. Afterwards, I went to my mother and told her everything that had happened.

“My mum told my father what to do but nothing happened. It was sad because my father didn’t do anything."

Fortunately, she did not see her uncle again after the incident. "But I will never forget what he tried to do to me," she said.