‘It’s time to heal’: Domestic violence survivor shares her story to help others

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says that every minute about 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner in this country.

Tara Knight says that there is no way that she should be alive today.

“I’m called a survivor because my ex-husband literally left me for dead,” said Knight.

Knight believes that she survived to be brave enough to tell her story of how her ex-husband attacked and hit her often – and relentlessly.

“All of his punches were to the left side of my face, which is now asymmetrical, and now it cannot be operated on,” Knight explained. “I rarely smile anymore, and if I do, I try and photoshop but most of the time you only see my profile from the right side.”

Knight, a grandmother of five, managed to escape the relationship.

“And it’s not just leaving, it’s actually escaping someone that is causing you physical harm,” Knight said.

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Unfortunately, Knight’s story is not unique. The Downtown Rescue Mission in Huntsville offers survivors and their children a place to escape abuse.

“Have a place where you can come and recharge and then hopefully not go back and feel like you are forced back into that bad situation,” Ashleigh Hayes of the Downtown Rescue Mission told News 19.

Knight told News 19 that her abuser was charged for the brutal attack, but that years later – there still is no trial. But she knows that her survival from an abusive relationship means that telling her story will help others to survive.

“Don’t rush into another relationship,” said Knight. “Just find a place that you can heal.”

Tara Knight now holds her own support group for victims of domestic violence. You can find that information here .

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