Sara Hultén met a man online and fell in love – but suddenly everything changed. She would be exposed to both psychological and physical violence. For two years, she was raped, humiliated and abused by her partner. – He cut off a piece of my scalp, induced steroids in me, drugged me with morphine and burned me with a lighter, she says in Efter fem. Sara ran a beauty salon in Östersund for many years. She had several friends and was generally happy. But something she missed was love. And in the summer of 2019, she would meet, what she thought, the love of her life. She and the 35-year-old man met online and fell in love. – The first time was absolutely fantastic. We talked about everything, had dreams. We did a lot of fun things together. He said things that made me feel special, nice, he listened to what I said, she says. “The hepatitis came quickly” But after three months into the relationship, Sara noticed a change. The man became jealous and controlling. He had access to her mobile and social media. She wasn’t allowed to put on make-up and towards the end wasn’t allowed to go to work either. – Jealousy came quite quickly. Then, for example, I wasn’t allowed to have any male friends anymore. After about six months, the couple had moved in together. Then the violence escalated further. The first blow was a beer glass that he threw in her face. But at that point, Sara was still excusing much of the behavior. Among other things, she blamed her customers for slipping with the dog. “Threatened to rape or kill my nephew” On the fridge was a note on rules that Sara was supposed to follow. Where some examples were “respond to calls, direct and clear, ‘listen and do exactly what I say’, ‘stop feeling sorry for yourself'”. Along with that list was a schedule of times when she would hug her boyfriend. But leaving him was never current, because she was terrified of him. – I was starting to get very scared. He threatened to kill himself if I left him. Or that if I left he would rape or kill my nephew. Or my family. And I can only say that I couldn’t put them through that. Then I’d rather take it myself. The violence and threats would continue and get worse as time went on. – He cut off a piece of my scalp, he induced steroids in me, drugged me with morphine, burned me with lighters, usually hit me 3-5 times in one place because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to stop. – I have feared for my life so many times, I lived to survive. Sentenced to prison In the end the violence was so bad that it could not be hidden any longer. Sara knew that if she doesn’t leave now, he will kill her, she says. Sara confided in her friend who helped her report the man to the police. – I am so grateful for my friend and that she called the police. She made the report. And the police took me very seriously. I received fantastic help from social services, the police and doctors. Therefore, I want you to dare to report. The man was detained and then sentenced in November 2020 to three years and six months in prison for rape, gross violation of women’s privacy, illegal threats, molestation and minor doping offences. Another woman was a plaintiff in the judgment. The verdict shows that Sara was scalped, had her jaw broken, was forced to perform oral sex, that the man threatened to cut off her clitoris, was set on fire in the abdomen and urinated on. After the report, Sara has lived in an undisclosed location. But refused sheltered accommodation. She has been granted a restraining order against the man that is valid for six months. After that, she needs to apply again. The man has served two-thirds of his sentence, which means that he is free today. – I feel a fear, but he has already taken so much of my life. I’m here to live. Before I lived to survive, now I live to live. When she tells about the change, she breaks down in the Efter fem studio. – I want to help, it’s not okay to do this, says a crying Sara. She has written a book and lectures on the subject. She hopes to encourage others to seek help. 343 women killed since the turn of the millennium by men 343 women have been killed since the turn of the millennium by men they were in a close relationship with. According to Aftonbladet’s Linda Hjertén, we are becoming increasingly aware of the structures behind a violent relationship, but the women continue to be murdered. She talks about the typical perpetrator in the clip below:
t4-general
Sara was subjected to sexual torture: "I lived to survive"
