Trang’s Story

Sometimes those closest to us hurt us the most. For Trang, a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse, this certainly rings true…
Trang’s family was never truly happy. Working far away, her father was rarely home and when he was he beat her mother and blamed her.
Trang was expected to be a gentle, cheerful, respectful and smart daughter so from a young age she tried to please everyone in her family to keep the peace.
When her father was imprisoned and her mother was hospitalised Trang developed a strong fear of abandonment. She constantly thought “I have to be good, I have to be perfect so they won’t leave.”
These fears followed her throughout childhood, so when her uncle sexually abused her she stayed silent. Fearing rejection and abandonment, and trying to be the family peacemaker, she kept everything inside including the exposure to explicit content and inappropriate touching.
Initially Trang blamed herself for what happened and thought perhaps she deserved it. She didn’t think she could tell anyone for fear of criticism so she suppressed the trauma and her memory became foggy.
Hagar Vietnam first met Trang when she called their hotline during a panic attack stemming from her father’s verbal abuse. Hagar supported her with emergency accommodation enabling her to get to safety. Hagar spoke to Trang about her needs and problems and organised care for her.
Initially Trang struggled to share her story with anyone, even close friends, because she thought she had to be fine. Wearing a mask for so long honesty and vulnerability were foreign. However, with Hagar’s help she has finally started to heal. After 12 sessions with a Hagar psychologist Trang can see the changes in her perspectives and mental wellbeing. She continues to work on her fears and grows stronger every single day!

“It was like I always had a mask on and I didn’t know how to be honest and vulnerable with others, maybe I didn’t know where to start”. At Hagar, she finally could say it out loud that “I am healing now!” 

 

 

 

Hagar pursues the highest degree of care and protection for each of its clients. To protect the identity of our clients, names have been changed and images do not necessarily represent the individual profiled.

Help us transform lives

Donate now

By partnering with Hagar, you’re supporting survivors to heal from the trauma of severe abuse. Our work is dependent on charitable giving by people like you.

Help us transform lives

Donate now

By partnering with Hagar, you’re supporting survivors to heal from the trauma of severe abuse. Our work is dependent on charitable giving by people like you.

Help us transform lives

Donate now

By partnering with Hagar, you’re supporting survivors to heal from the trauma of severe abuse. Our work is dependent on charitable giving by people like you.

Donate
Donate

Help us transform lives

Donate now

By partnering with Hagar, you’re supporting survivors to heal from the trauma of severe abuse. Our work is dependent on charitable giving by people like you.

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