'I fear for my life,' says Manitoba woman seeking protection from husband

A Manitoba woman who is trying to obtain a protection order against her husband says there are many others like her who need more help and support in leaving abusive partners.

"Faith," who is in her 20s, says she recently left her northern Manitoba home after enduring physical abuse at the hands of her husband of six years.

"He did a lot to me — choked me to the point where I kind of blacked out. He bit my face," she said in an interview Tuesday. "I had a lot of black eyes … the first black eye I ever had was from him."

CBC News is protecting Faith's real identity for safety reasons. She is staying at a women's shelter in the province and trying to get a protection order this week.

"I am hiding because I fear for my life and my safety," she said.

"He has no idea where I am right now, but I was talking to my sister. He's ... in Winnipeg, trying to find where I am."

While Faith said she is afraid of leaving the shelter, she wants to share her story in the hopes of helping others.

Saddened by recent deaths

She said she was saddened by the death of Camille Runke, 49, who was shot at her workplace in Winnipeg on Oct. 31.

Court documents revealed that Runke was granted a protection order in July against her estranged husband, Kevin Runke, who she said had been stalking her for months.

Several weeks earlier, 20-year-old Selena Rose Keeper died after she was found beaten outside a home in the city's North End. Ray William Everett has been charged with second-degree murder in her death.

Court records show that Keeper had applied in May for a protection order against Everett, but her application was dismissed.

Faith said the provincial government's proposal to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to apply for and receive protection orders will help others in her situation.

However, she said police must take requests for protection more seriously, recalling one time she contacted the RCMP following a fight at her home.

"I tried to go and get a restraining order done but they said [there] wasn't enough evidence for them to do it, so I just left," she said.

'Do I want to stay?'

Faith said her husband was charming and kind until after they were married, then "that's when the light switch went off and he turned wicked, evil."

She said she went back to him many times in the past, thinking he would change.

Faith said she continues to deal with the emotional scars from a miscarriage she experienced 2½ years ago, which she said happened after her husband allegedly beat her in the stomach with his knees.

Now the mother of a young child, Faith said the turning point for her came two months ago.

"I was at home and then I noticed the leaves changing on the trees and then it was starting to turn into fall, and then I thought of the seasons," she said.

"I was thinking, do I want to stay in this relationship, or do I want to change like the seasons of the year?"

Faith said she understands that there's no guarantee a protection order will keep her husband away from her, but she hopes that obtaining one will buy her some time to figure out what to do next.

She said she wants to continue with counselling so she can heal from the trauma from her relationship, and her future goals include going into social work.

"I realized the cycle that I was in, I had to break that cycle," Faith said.

"Nobody will do it for you. You got to do it yourself."