Vanessa Govender addresses the queens at Carnival City
Public figure CJ Benjamin shared the stage with Vanessa as the MC for the day.
Carnival City celebrated Women’s Day by hosting a high tea themed Wear your Crown on August 9 with Vanessa Govender, author of Beaten but not Broken.
Vanessa read a chapter from her book, where she spoke of the abuse she endured at the hands of her then well-known partner, whose name she does not reveal.
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“I always said I was sorry even if I was not wrong, just to keep the peace,” she said.
That is how she tried to defuse situations.
She warned the guests about the importance of loving yourself as she believed her insecurities played a part in her staying for that long.
CJ added: “You need to look in the mirror and love yourself from the inside and it will start showing on the outside.”
When Vanessa was asked what the final straw was that motivated her to finally leave the relationship, she described the scene in detail how he had beaten her unconscious in the parking lot at her work place and left her with a face that she could not recognised as the skin on her nose had peeled off and she had a big bruise on her forehead, then having to lie to her colleagues and say that she had slipped and fell.
That incident would result in her not being able to read the news on television for weeks to allow her wounds to heal.
The high tea came to an emotional end when Vanessa asked the ladies in the room to participate in a survey and asked women who have been abused or know of someone who has been abused to stand up, most of the women in the room stood up. She said: “Let us raise girls who do not have to say ‘me too’.”
Women in the audience were given an opportunity to ask questions or give comment and shared their experiences in abusive relationships and how they conquered.
They came out stronger and thanked Vanessa for sharing her story.
Every queen left the room wearing their crowns and feeling empowered.
