Nelisiwe Sibiya on healing after she opened up about being abused

While there's still a lot that needs to be done to eradicate women abuse, Nelisiwe Sibiya is proud of the progress SA has made and as a survivor of abuse herself is passionate about creating conversation. 

Nelisiwe told TshisaLIVE that talking about her own experience has helped her with the process of healing. 

"I know it's hard because how do you even begin... but find that one person and tell them what you are going through and show them your scars. The issue is we don't trust each other, especially as women. But the trick is the first thing that really helps us get out of abusive situations and stay out is to talk about it,” she said.

Nelisiwe, who has previously explained that she’s suffered abuse from a close family relative when she was younger said that she understood how difficult it was for abuse victims to break free from the fear their abusers put on them psychologically.

"You have to be determined to get out but that's also hard because the abuse kills your willpower and sometimes you don't want to fight anymore. It took me forever to get to a place where I could trust a man enough to date him because of everything I went through.

"You need to speak - the more I spoke about it the more things became clearer for me. The more I spoke the more I became honest with myself. That's how I began to heal. Not talking about it is one of the foremost reasons why women are depressed. But again, I know it's hard"