Small tattoo, big meaning - Body art marks day woman reclaimed her life

To strangers, the modest tattoo on Cindy's* left shoulder may appear meaningless, but to her it's a quiet monument to survival.

The tattoo is nothing more than a simple date -- no design, no decoration -- yet it carries a lifetime of meaning. Now 31, Cindy says that date marks the day she escaped an abusive relationship and reclaimed her life.

Her story began unravelling in 2009, when she was just 15 and lost her mother. Her father, consumed by pain, found it difficult to maintain his mental health.

In that vulnerable space, Cindy believed she found comfort in an older man who, she thought, would not only protect her, but provide for her.

"I was 15 and he was 24," she said. "Him did nice to me at first," Cindy recalled.

At the time, Cindy said the relationship felt like the support she needed, especially as she was carrying burdens far heavier than any child should.

"I was at school, can't even think straight because I am thinking about my brother and sister and what them go eat," she said, explaining why the situation seemed reasonable to her then.

She admitted she was underage when the relationship began, but said she did not move in with him until she was 16 -- a decision she now describes as life-altering.

"Oh God, when mi go live with him -- oh murder, murder -- everything change. I get lick for everything mi say," she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

From that point, she said her youth slipped away.

While living with her former partner, the pair ran a small business together for eight years -- years she describes not as growth, but as survival.

Cindy describes herself as young, naive, and deeply conditioned to accept abuse. One incident still haunts her.

"One time him beat me, and them throw him out of the house and leave me there, and mi same one sorry for him." she said

Cindy said she often felt lonely and helpless. The violence was relentless. "It was just me and God and him disciples going through it," she shared.

One unexpected source of support came from her mother-in-law.

"Him mother love me. Never support what him do mi at all, and use to tell mi to find better," Cindy shared.

Still, she stayed.

"Mi already in deh, mi a think about dem, mi father, brother and sister," she said, adding that she had developed a sense of duty to provide financial support for her family.

"Every time mi earn from the business, if I make 10, I give them five," she added.

The breaking point came during Christmas -- a season meant for joy, but marked instead by violence. Cindy recalled hoping for a small moment of happiness as relatives visited from overseas.

She recalled realising that Christmas would bring visiting relatives from overseas and gifts from her father's side of the family, giving her hope that she would finally receive clothes and a few small comforts. After helping her partner's mother prepare the night before, the day took a turn when he came home searching for a shirt and questioned her about it. When she said she did not know where it was and suggested he look for his own belongings, the situation quickly escalated.

"A bare beating; mi eye swell big suh," she said.

She said she remained inside for days, and used the opportunity to pack her belongings into three garbage bags. She then plot her escape, telling her then boyfriend she was heading to her father's home to do laundry.

Cindy never returned.

That same day, Cindy got the tattoo -- the date etched into her skin forever.

However, it was not easy because the abuser kept following her. "When mi left him just ready to start love me, but mi never a go back," she said.

Today, Cindy proudly proclaims her freedom. Her message to women is urgent and unfiltered.

"When you see the red flags, run!" she said. "Just run [and] don't look back!"

* Name changed to protect identity.