Ending the Stigma Around Domestic Violence with Mira Dunning
Episode description
This episode comes as a result of feedback I’ve received from a previous show on domestic violence. Since this topic clearly struck a chord with many listeners, today’s conversation is a great follow-up. Join us to learn more!
Mira Denning is the founder of Stronger Than Silence, an organization that means to end the stigma around domestic violence and help survivors share their stories to pull back the curtain on what goes on behind closed doors. Mira hopes to end the stigma and shame to help more people get out of domestic violence situations. She is a survivor and an incredibly helpful voice for this topic.
Show Highlights:
- How Mira came to start this organization after a corporate career and a ten-year marriage full of domestic violence
- Why the vision of Stronger Than Silence is to elevate the stories and eliminate the stigma and shame around domestic violence
- Mira’s story of going to prestigious schools, having a successful career, and being in a marriage that was nothing like it appeared to be
- How domestic violence began for Mira with verbal abuse and digs that left her never feeling good about herself and escalated to physical abuse that became routine and life-threatening
- How Mira shut down relationships with friends and family to isolate herself so no one would know the truth of her life
- Why work became a sanctuary for Mira because she operated in survival mode at home
- How Mira grappled with shame, embarrassment, and fear to finally disclose the truth to her parents, who helped her find a lawyer
- Why Mira felt empathy for her husband because of his issues and financial problems and thought she could “fix” him with enough effort--until the empathy went away and she was able to leave
- Mira’s experience in building a safety plan and going for full custody of her young son
- The struggle in co-parenting with an abusive ex-partner
- Why it takes a woman a while to understand the PTSD and unravel the damage from an abusive relationship
- Why it takes a time of information gathering before a woman actually leaves the home
- What Mira has learned in collecting others’ stories
- How the statistics show that 1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence, and 1 in 4 men will be abusers; in spite of the prevalence, there is little awareness in the general public
- How domestic violence doesn’t usually begin with physical abuse but starts with emotional, verbal, and financial abuse that begin as controlling behaviors
Resources:
Stronger Than Silence elevates the stories of survivors of domestic abuse so that we can #shatterthesilence surrounding it. They are looking for more survivor stories as part of their Story Campaign. To share your story or to learn more, please visit www.strongerthansilence.org.
You can also follow Stronger Than Silence on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for testimonies and inspiration.
You can email Mira: Mira@StrongerThanSilence.org.
Connect with Cristie:
Parenting Courses: www.wonderincwellness.com
Email: critzking@wonderincwellness.com