Opened up about childhood with dehumanized father: When I was 3, he showed me his “thing” for the first time

Daria’s nightmares began in childhood. “I always had good friends, but nowhere did I feel safe, important and good like other kids my age. I was abandoned in every sense: clothes, food, emotional support, which a child needs so much – I did not have all these things. The house was very neglected, the washing machine did not work, the toilet flush did not work, the kitchen looked terrible, the dishes were not washed, the surfaces were sticky. My father used to smoke at home, where he smoked, he shook the ashes there. It smelled bad. And I wasn’t tidy,” the woman said.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. When she was just 3-4 years old, Darija experienced sexual harassment for the first time. “The first memory I have is of my father revealing his dressing gown and showing me his ‘private area’ as he walked into the kitchen. I was small because I had to raise my hand to point with my finger and I asked what was here. He then immediately took cover. Mother was also in the kitchen at that time, but she didn’t see it,” Darija said.