Charleston Survivor Helps Women Escape Domestic Violence

Brenna Lawrence wants you to know that leaving an abusive relationship is not as impossible as it feels.

The 44-year-old Charleston mother of two survived ten years of physical and verbal abuse that started when she was just a teenager. Her high school sweetheart punched her in the face at 17, and the violence continued for the next decade.

"I thought that everything I was getting, as twisted as it sounds, I really thought that I deserved that," Brenna recalls. The silence from people around her only reinforced what her abuser told her.

Everything changed when she was thrown over a table and cracked a rib. Brenna decided to get better, not bitter. She left the relationship, eventually met her now-husband, and started a new chapter.

Ten years ago, she moved to Charleston and turned her painful past into a mission. She now volunteers at My Sister's House and speaks regularly to women trapped in similar situations.

Charleston Survivor Helps Women Escape Domestic Violence

Her advice is direct: make the break and don't look back. "If you have to get out, you have to get out," she says. "Go radio silent, and then you just have to start to build the next chapter."

Brenna acknowledges the emotional and financial obstacles feel overwhelming. But she promises that making these difficult decisions will give you clarity about who you are and what you want.

The Ripple Effect

Brenna's work extends beyond individual conversations. She's also a member of The Helm, an organization that supports executive mothers so they don't have to choose between career ambitions and motherhood.

Her husband has been her biggest supporter throughout her advocacy work. But her favorite cheerleaders are closer to home: her two daughters, who are proud of their mom's courage.

"I want to be that friend I didn't have, the voice I didn't have, that I didn't hear," Brenna says.

One in four women will experience physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the CDC, but survivors like Brenna prove there's always a path forward.