Domestic Violence Survivor Shares Story As Alarming Statistics Reveal Harsh Realities Of Domestic Abuse

Wright says her ex-partner was "a girl's dream," until he later became her abuser and stalker and she became a victim of domestic violence.

Precious Wright, a resident of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, has courageously broken her silence after enduring years of domestic violence, a harrowing ordeal she describes as “extreme, extreme manipulation.”

It wasn’t until Wright took the crucial step of seeking help that she was able to build a support system and escape her abusive circumstances. Wright recalls being initially enamored by her partner’s seemingly ideal qualities. “He was literally a girl’s dream—anything you would want in a man. Financially responsible, nice dates, traveling out of town,” she told CBS News. However, approximately a year and a half later, the relationship took a distressing turn. Wright found herself trapped in a cycle of uncontrollable arguments, shouting fits, property destruction, and threats.

The domestic violence survivor accused her former partner of relentless stalking and harassment. From February 2020 to March 2021, Wright filed dozens of police reports alleging that the man repeatedly broke her car window, demanded entry into her home, and, on one occasion, physically assaulted her by punching her with closed fists and throwing her to the ground.

“He also made between 50 and 75 email addresses to email me from,” she said. “He would call me from 100, 200 different numbers, and I would block him.”

A February report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified using technology to contact victims via phone calls, texts, emails, social media, or photo messages as a common stalking tactic. The CDC’s ongoing National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey highlights the staggering reality that millions of Americans are affected by sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence annually.

Despite obtaining a two-year Order of Protection, Wright’s abuser persisted in contacting and violating her personal space. After repeatedly taking her abuser back, Wright made the courageous decision to leave everything behind and seek help. With a strong support system, she was able to secure a new place to live, a new job, and a new car, reclaiming her independence.

Staggering statistics from the National Domestic Violence Hotline underscore the urgency of this issue: an average of 24 people per minute in the United States are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, and more than 12 million women and men experience such abuse over a single year. Alarmingly, most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender at staggeringly high rates across various age groups.

While therapist Gabrielle Molden-Carlwell acknowledged that domestic violence victims who report to the police often face unsatisfactory responses and skepticism about their cases, Wright emphasized the importance of victims being “aware of the resources” and not being “afraid to reach out and take advantage of those resources.”