Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Victims of abuse
Domestic violence survivor Maria Robles as seen on Sept. 3. She holds a smartphone photo of her five children that she is raising by herself. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Domestic violence survivor Maria Robles as seen in the hospital after her husband, who she was separated from at the time, attacked her in July 2012 at her North Las Vegas apartment. The cell phone in her bra saved her live, but she sustained 12 stab wounds. One of her five children also was attacked. (Courtesy/Safe Faith United)
Domestic violence victim Lisa Reed shows her injuries after her husband attack her in 2011. She was preparing for Mrs. Nevada Plus America pageant at the time. The mother of three had her face fractured in two places, and her nose was broken and her larynx crushed. She now is deaf in her right ear. She ended up homeless after the attack.(Courtesy/Safe Faith United)
Domestic violence survivor Lisa Reed as seen on Sept. 3. Since the attack she is working at the Clark County School District. "I am the boss," said Reed. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Tamara Ryan holds three teeth she lost after her husband attacked her on July 4, 2012. (Courtesy/Safe Faith United)
Domestic violence survivor Tamara Ryan, seen on Sept. 3, lives with a friend and is unemployed. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Domestic violence survivor Rosa Carbajar as seen after her ex-boyfriend shot her four times in 2012. Her case is pending in court. (Courtesy/Safe Faith United)
Domestic violence survivor Rosa Carbajar as seen on Sept. 3. Cabajar, who takes pain killers, has two teenage boys. She owns a booth at a local swap meet. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Fractured faces, crushed larynx and knocked out teeth. Gunshots and stab wounds.
The numbers are numbing: One in four women have experienced domestic violence. Rebeca Ferreira, founder and executive director of Safe Faith United, has seen the damage. Ferreira, who was abused by her former husband, has used her meager savings and donations to help victims, predominantly minority women.
Ferreira struggles to pay the rent. “I have sacrificed for five years to save 1,000 lives,” she said. “Someone has to take charge to help the needy.”
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Portraits of the women were taken on an iPhone using the KitCam app.
