How abusive man changed

Surround yourself with positive people

A reformed women abuser says nobody deserves to be abused.

Octavius Mosipa, 36, of Soshanguve in Tshwane, said he was lucky he didn’t go to jail after physically abusing his girlfriend for three years.

“I started assaulting her when I discovered she was cheating on me. The trust broke down and the anger kept mounting every time I thought of her cheating ways.

“I was working and a sole provider. I felt like she was disrespecting me,” he said.

Mosipa said he was very angry, especially since she had cheated with somebody he knew.

But on the other hand he was also dating several other women.

“In 2007 I began self-introspection and even changed friends,” Mosipa said.

He ended the relationship because he could not forgive the woman for cheating on him.

He later joined a support group where he learnt about self-respect, discipline and non-violence.

“I managed to change as I was taught about discipline and the need to surround myself with positivethinking people,” Mosipa said.

He now provides counselling to other abusers so they could realise that what they are doing is wrong.

Mosipa is a facilitator at an NGO that counsels men.