HYDERABAD: For the public and the media, brutal crimes against women end with the offenders' arrest and subsequent conviction. But for the victims of such crimes, the trauma induced by the physical and emotional violence they were subjected to is something they would have to carry for the rest of their lives.
A year after being brutally attacked by her neighbour, the 17-year-old victim of stalking from Barkatpura says though she has recovered from her physical injuries, the nightmares about the violence have been haunting her since the incident. The teenager had to undergo six surgeries after her stalker stabbed her in Barkatpura.
Express spoke to the young survivor a year after the violent crime in February 2019. It started with the accused Bharath stalking the minor girl. When she refused his advances, the 18-year-old accused stabbed her multiple times with a sickle.
"Sometimes I get dreams in which I see him attacking my parents. At other times, I see him holding something and standing right behind me. These dreams were more often in the first three months of recovery and I used to wake up scared. But it is getting better now," said the survivor, who is now pursuing B Tech.
Though she says she’s a fighter and not a victim, the trauma that the 17-year-old deals with is unfathomable. "I don’t want sympathy. I believe I am not a victim but a fighter. But there have been days when the surgeries have left me weak. I still can’t bend my little finger on the left hand," she added. Doctors say that she would have to undergo two more surgeries.
The survivor has still not opted for any medical intervention for her mental trauma owing to the mounting surgery bills. After the initial support of nearly Rs 14 lakh from the government, the family has had to spend Rs 2 to 3 lakh for other surgeries and physiotherapy.
Despite these obstacles, she has chosen to lead a normal life. "None of my new friends or teachers know about the incident. I don’t want to tell them. I want to focus on my studies and go abroad," she added. The accused is under trail at the Nampally fast-track court.