Living on the train tracks in Mitchells Plain – being abused and begging for money to feed her boyfriend’s drug habits is no longer the life a 41-year-old woman wants for herself.
Sonja Barrens sits on the hard brown benches outside the courtroom in Mitchell’s Plain with a red scarf around her head, waiting patiently for assistance.
She makes it clear to Action Society that she wants a better life. Her arms still show bruising after her boyfriend beat her up the previous day – but she manages to smile, hoping for something better.
Barrens said six years ago, she and her partner lived together. They’ve lived in three people’s yards before settling on the train tracks. And since then, Marcus Lucas has been abusive.
She touched the blue marks on her arms and said, “He makes me beg on the streets for his drug money. I can’t help but do it. He hits and kicks me and treats me horribly, and then to make things worse, I have to provide him with sex at night.”
Barrens said she wants help, as her lifestyle is simply not sustainable.
“I have had enough of the abuse; I cannot carry on through life like this. I need to get a protection order and a safe place to stay. I cannot live and be around that man,” she said.
Barrens said she has turned to the courts and organisations because she has no family to support her.
Action Society is assisting her in obtaining a protection order as well as helping to find a shelter or safe house.
