Breaking Silence - Series Four

Episode One - Maureen
The belief that her abuse would bring shame on God and her family kept Maureen Fepulea'i from seeking help when her cousin sexually abused her. In the early stages of her marriage, her husband was caring and was supportive of her history with abuse.  When he started beating her after their children were born, she found safety in music. She served her partner with a protection order after a particularly heinous beating, and though she faced shame from the church, her need to protect her children took precedence. Having submitted her PhD, Maureen started teaching at tertiary institutes and created iQ Talanoa, a support group empowering "indigenous Queens" to return to school. 

Episode Two - Stalking 
Annaliese Wadsworth tells the story of her friend, Zana Yaqubi. After Zana decides not to continue a relationship with a man she goes on a date with, he starts to stalk her. He follows her and threatens her life, including telling her he is going to kidnap her and throw acid on her face. The stalking goes on for years, and on 19 December 2022, after their final exam for the year at law school, Zana was stabbed by her stalker. 

Episode Three - Economic Harm
Abuse comes in many forms; it's not always physical or sexual. This episode looks at the effect of financial control. Everything in Rebecca's 20-year marriage seemed to be ticking along nicely. She looked after the kids, and her partner took care of all the finances. One day, Rebecca saw cash withdrawals and started receiving calls from numerous banks and collection agencies. She realised he was taking out debts against her name without her knowledge, online. He was acting incredibly suspicious, and he started to physically abuse her. With the help of the organisation Good Shepherd, Rebecca was able to regain personal financial control and get a mortgage for her own home.

Episode Four - Leanne 
Leanne Musaphia went to London for her OE with her husband. After her marriage fell apart, and when her daughter was only six years old, Leanne was diagnosed with a brain tumour. In 2012, she found out she needed brain surgery. At the time, she had just met a new partner, who moved in after the operation. He had a problem with alcohol, which got worse with time. The psychological abuse started, and he was sexually aggressive. When Leanne told him to leave, he was physically abusive, and then the harassment, threats and stalking started. She was in real fear for her life and was told by the detective in charge of the case to return to New Zealand. Back in Aotearoa, Leanne found recovery through exercise, trauma therapy and her puppy. 

Episode Five - Hina
Moving from Lahore, Pakistan to Aotearoa, Hina Nasir had high hopes that the move would help the controlling relationship with her husband, but the same control continued across the globe. Hina took matters into her own hands and started studying design. During the COVID lockdowns, the hitting and yelling got out of control. After her design institute noticed something may be wrong, Hina opened up and was moved to a safe house with her children, before finding a new home and gaining independence. 

Episode Six - Hamie 
Hamie grew up surrounded by abuse. Feeling sorry for her aggressor when her mother left him, Hamie decided to stay with her caregiver, but after the relentless abuse, she returned to her mother. She struggled with flashbacks, trauma and moved out at 16 years old. At the age of 19 or 20, Hamie embraced her sexuality and was in her first relationship. Hamie then realised her partner had control issues, and started to hit Hamie. She left the relationship and realised she also had a lot of violence in herself. Hamie found solace in counselling, reconnection to her whakapapa and rongoā Māori.

Episode Seven - Suzi Marsh
Suzi Marsh works at Tauranga Living Without Violence, an organisation that provides free support to both perpetrators and sufferers of domestic violence. She provides teaching and tools for men who want to change how they react to conflict. Suzi has experience in the cycle of abuse, too, to a point where she almost broke — but after a neighbour intervened, she chose to repair, not repeat. The episode also looks at the need to help end the cycle of violence.

Episode Eight - Simonne
The host of this series, Simonne Butler, describes her own harrowing story of being in an abusive relationship, and the lasting effects of the abuse. She sits down with Dr Nicola Atwool to discuss the racist stereotypes in the world of abuse and perpetrators, and that Aotearoa must face the effects of colonisation to understand the cycle of abuse within Māori households.