Journo’s ‘bible for battered women’

Reliving the dark episodes of abuse while writing the book caused Govender to become angry and slip into bouts of depression

SINCE release in September, the book Beaten not Broken has been reprinted twice, and its publishers, Jacana Media, have planned another major print run in the new year.

Penned by award-winning e.tv journalist Vanessa Govender, the book has been flying off shelves at book stores.

The tell-all book that laid bare her more than five years of abuse and suffering at the hands of her intimate partner, reached number four on Exclusive Books’ top 100 non-fiction books list in the country shortly after release.

“The book is selling exceptionally well, it only lasts for a few days on our shelves,” said Felicia Reddy, who runs the Chatsworth CNA branch.

Govender, who regards the book as a “bible for battered women”, believes it is in demand because “there is a crisis in the country”.

“The great demand speaks to the statistics of gender-based violence in South Africa and the vulnerable sector of our society who have been suppressed into suffering in silence,” said Govender.

That was the motivating factor for Govender to have the book published.

“Nearly every day I would come across a story of a woman dying at the hands of her intimate partner. I had to constantly remind myself that I was one of the lucky ones. I got out.”

However, spreading the message of hope to other battered women by sharing her own “dirty secrets of the despicable things” that happened in her abusive relationship was at times overwhelming for Govender.

When she eventually mustered the courage to write the book, Govender, a former Lotus FM news reporter, said she “wrote to heal myself and help other women”.

Early on in the book, Govender details one bout during her tempestuous relationship with a former Lotus FM DJ.

The account began with her lying face-down in the SABC’S Durban parking lot. It was only later she realised the extent of the physical damage to her face and body, and the lingering emotional trauma from that incident cut even deeper.

Repeated episodes of being beaten, kicked, strangled and verbal abuse was what Govender endured until she got out of the relationship.

Reliving those memories for the book took Govender to a dark place, which caused her to become angry and slip into bouts of depression.

“It got so bad and reached a point where I abandoned writing, only to revisit the unfinished manuscript nearly a year later.

“The last two months before the book was released were the most traumatic of my life because the prospect of strangers knowing my deepest secrets was almost debilitating.”

Govender needed therapy and medication to cope.

She said her book had become a catalyst for women around the country to share their own experiences with her.

“There are too many wounded women walking around who remain silent for various reasons. This book has triggered, for many, their own traumas … it seems as if women, especially in the Indian community, have been waiting for permission to speak and the book allowed this to happen.”