Needed: Advice or Help
A friend of a friend, a poor woman in Houston, is in a shitty and abusive situation. Two stepkids of an abusive rapey dick, one kid of her own from before meeting the abusive rapey dick, one with him, and one on the way (see the "rapey" bit of the title "rapey dick blister"). She's 23. That's a year younger than me.
One of the stepkids is a special needs kid, not sure exactly how. She wants the kids to go to their mother, because their father is abusive, but he sued their mother for custody and won (even though he works at a gas station making very little money, has had child protection services called on him for his abuse, and is an abusive rapist dick). She has trouble properly taking care of the step-kids because of the pregnancy, her two biological children, and the constant rapey abuse she's getting from the dick. He only keeps her around as a caretaker for the kids and a receptacle for his sperm, he has explicitly said, and also probably because he's a sadistic psychopath who delights in control and torture.
(In case you weren't aware that a classist and sexist system, against which women cannot win, is in place everywhere--it's called the patriarchy--the following bit should really change your mind.)
She's tried to leave him at least twice, but he threatens to sue for custody for their 1+ kid. That's right, haters, she tried to leave, but if she leaves him (as people are always tsk tsking, blaming murdered and abused women for not leaving their abusers, neglecting the whole "violent abuse and physical danger" part of abuse) she will be giving up the child she has, and the child growing in her uterus that she doesn't want. Because 5 kids on a poverty-level salary is insane. But if she gets an abortion, he'll kill her (that's right, haters, who are always complaining about how poor people have too many children--sometimes they have the children against their will, when their abusive boyfriend rapes them and then threatens to kill them if they have an abortion).
Finally, my friend has called domestic violence shelters all over their area. They have been kind, but also very honest about the fact that if she leaves him, he will likely try (likely succeed) to kill her, and possibly the children. They also have been honest that if she successfully leaves him and survives, if he sues for custody he'll probably win.
So, that's awesome, yeah? How does this happen in Houston? I want to call George Bush and be like "Fuck you this is happening in your country your home goddam state why the hell aren't you fuckers doing anything about this?" But it's not like that's gonna happen. Once CPS came and left with no repercussions (HE IS ABUSING THE CHILDREN AND THE GIRLFRIEND, FFS) any faith in the system disintegrated. They are poor, and the foster system is taxed already, and she's too afraid of getting murdered (...because the experts in domestic violence rightly tell her to expect it) to get specific about the abuse, because she also know that the chances of any of it sticking are slim to none. Welcome to being poor and female in America.
Anyway. I'm not writing this just to make people aware of the shit that's going on all over the country, I'm also writing to ask for help. Does anyone know anyone in Texas or elsewhere who could possibly help this woman? Does anyone have any ideas about what she could do? Seriously. Anything? Preferably something that won't get her/her kids killed or her kids taken away from her and left alone and defenseless against an abusive sexual predator?
One of the stepkids is a special needs kid, not sure exactly how. She wants the kids to go to their mother, because their father is abusive, but he sued their mother for custody and won (even though he works at a gas station making very little money, has had child protection services called on him for his abuse, and is an abusive rapist dick). She has trouble properly taking care of the step-kids because of the pregnancy, her two biological children, and the constant rapey abuse she's getting from the dick. He only keeps her around as a caretaker for the kids and a receptacle for his sperm, he has explicitly said, and also probably because he's a sadistic psychopath who delights in control and torture.
(In case you weren't aware that a classist and sexist system, against which women cannot win, is in place everywhere--it's called the patriarchy--the following bit should really change your mind.)
She's tried to leave him at least twice, but he threatens to sue for custody for their 1+ kid. That's right, haters, she tried to leave, but if she leaves him (as people are always tsk tsking, blaming murdered and abused women for not leaving their abusers, neglecting the whole "violent abuse and physical danger" part of abuse) she will be giving up the child she has, and the child growing in her uterus that she doesn't want. Because 5 kids on a poverty-level salary is insane. But if she gets an abortion, he'll kill her (that's right, haters, who are always complaining about how poor people have too many children--sometimes they have the children against their will, when their abusive boyfriend rapes them and then threatens to kill them if they have an abortion).
Finally, my friend has called domestic violence shelters all over their area. They have been kind, but also very honest about the fact that if she leaves him, he will likely try (likely succeed) to kill her, and possibly the children. They also have been honest that if she successfully leaves him and survives, if he sues for custody he'll probably win.
So, that's awesome, yeah? How does this happen in Houston? I want to call George Bush and be like "Fuck you this is happening in your country your home goddam state why the hell aren't you fuckers doing anything about this?" But it's not like that's gonna happen. Once CPS came and left with no repercussions (HE IS ABUSING THE CHILDREN AND THE GIRLFRIEND, FFS) any faith in the system disintegrated. They are poor, and the foster system is taxed already, and she's too afraid of getting murdered (...because the experts in domestic violence rightly tell her to expect it) to get specific about the abuse, because she also know that the chances of any of it sticking are slim to none. Welcome to being poor and female in America.
Anyway. I'm not writing this just to make people aware of the shit that's going on all over the country, I'm also writing to ask for help. Does anyone know anyone in Texas or elsewhere who could possibly help this woman? Does anyone have any ideas about what she could do? Seriously. Anything? Preferably something that won't get her/her kids killed or her kids taken away from her and left alone and defenseless against an abusive sexual predator?