Case Study 7: Sisilia and her trusted cousin Sisilia had a very happy childhood, filled with family, church, friends, warmth and love. “And yet. In that happy childhood something horrible happened. I was abused by an older cousin. A cousin is like a brother. Brothers are supposed to protect. This was the foundation on which my world was built.” Even at the age of 4 Sisilia knew the abuse was wrong, but blamed herself. Today Sisilia is a successful lawyer and mother of two children but she continues to bear the weight of the sexual abuse she suffered in her own childhood. She has worked hard to minimize the long term impacts but believes that coming to terms with abuse takes a lifetime. *Sisilia gave written evidence to the Inquiry and consented to the use of her real name for the report. Her courage in speaking publicly, and that of the other public witnesses, is acknowledged by all of the Inquiry Commissioners with the hope of removing the veil of silence around family violence. Case Study 8: Tasi’s* tragic tale12 Tasi’s mother died when she was 14 years old, leaving her father responsible for bringing her up. One night in 2009 her father had come home drunk and was in his room. He called her in to sit on his bed and as any dutiful daughter does, she complied. He then proceeded to rape Tasi, his own daughter, despite her cries and telling him how painful it was. Afterwards he told her not to tell anyone about what had happened. He went on to rape her regularly after coming home drunk until she became pregnant with his child. She was confronted by her brothers and confessed that the child was her fathers. An altercation followed in the village which led to the father and the whole family being banished from the village. Following the birth of the child, and after the family had relocated to another village, the rape continued and Tasi went on to give birth to another two children. When she became pregnant for the fourth time Tasi could bear the pain no longer and aborted the baby as she wanted it all to end. 12 Samoa Observer. “Horrendous tale of sexual abuse.” (24 October 2017). Retrieved from http://www.samoaobserver.ws/en/25_10_2017/local/25840/%E2%80%9CHorrendous-tale-of-sexual-abuse%E2%80%9D.htm. Accessed 30 May 2018.