LD Girlfriend Suffers from Emotional Abuse

[Servillo]

Now, I didn't know this when I started dating her, but it didn't take long for her to tell me. Both her parents are extremely unsupportive of her; her father (who's barely been there anywhere in her life) believe she should do exactly as he says in career, life-style choices, etc., and her mother hasn't had a job in years, depending solely on my girlfriend's income. A lot of people around her are no better, with only a few people offering any sort of real support.

 

I want to help her, but I know there's nothing I can do about it. The most I can tell her and myself is that one day she'll be able to find a life free of that kind of abuse. I'm beginning to wonder whether I should have said anything like that, because on more than one occasion she told me she didn't believe she had a right to be happy.

 

The few people around her who are supportive wonder why she hasn't just left and come here, where she said she'd be happy. Her and I both know that it would be incredibly difficult simply from a logistics standpoint (getting her a job, a place to live, in addition to the fact that I don't have anything to give myself), and that she's just started at an art college that she's wanted to go for since she was a kid.

 

It's hard knowing that she's living in such a situation, and being unable to do anything about it. We care about each other deeply, and when we talk about the life we could have, she's very happy, and feels like it's something she wants (which I want as well).

 

Any advice you can give?

[samantha20]

you know what she needs to do but unfortunately you can't force her. All you can do is try to persuade her as best you can and the rest is up to her.

[Servillo]

The real difficulty (at least as I see it) is that she's wanted art for all her life; I only entered a few months ago. I could ask her to leave, but a part of me is telling me that I shouldn't keep her from what she's wanted all her life. She's wanted to go to this school forever, and I don't think it's right to just ask her to sacrifice one dream for another. On the other hand, I really just want her to be safe and in a healthy place.