Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a type of abuse so sinister, it might go on for ages before it’s detected. And that is, if it’s ever detected. Sometimes, the abuse is that well-hidden or the abuser is a person beloved by their society. Sometimes, people just don’t believe the people suffering this type of abuse or they themselves don’t believe it.

But here’s the worst thing of all. It’s been sadly a bit commonplace, but victims of domestic violence sometimes have no way of seeking help. They could be facing hell every day but still have no way to tell others.

Sometimes, though, the victims do find a way. Recently, Om Seif, a Syrian PUBG YouTuber living in Turkey, has posted a video to her 5.7-million subscriber channel saying that this was going to be her last video.

Towards the end of that video, Om Seif said that “this was all she wanted to say” and quickly proceeded to do two hand signals people quickly recognized as signals of help for people dealing with violence at home.

Fortunately, the video started making its rounds on Twitter, with many people, Egyptians included, pointing out that there was screaming in the video’s background (Om Seif’s sister, according to some) and that they could spot marks on Om Seif’s hands and mouth.

And that’s all fine and well, right? People quickly picked up on a woman in danger and started hashtags (in Arabic and Turkish) meant to generate quick attention. So this has to mean things are good, right?

Well, no. Not quite. See, some people made the mistake of not reading past the headline and said that “they couldn’t care less if she retired” but that’s not the true horror. No, the true horror is this:

Imagine saying that you can’t judge a woman’s safety at home when that woman sent literal signs of help.

Yes, people saw a woman making signs of help because she’s in possible life-threatening danger and a lot of people’s reactions was to poke holes because “what kind of criminal will let her go on air?“.

Not only that, they even went as far as to say that if Turkey didn’t say anything, then why should it be true. You know, like cases immediately gain national recognition, especially immigrant/refugee cases. And here’s the worst bit — some people accused the woman of faking domestic violence for clout. No, seriously.

No Title

men are fucking trash aren’t they#ساعدوا_ام_سيف https://t.co/K0h485iUhV

Pictured: A sorry excuse of a human who thinks domestic violence is funny

Om Seif’s current situation is unknown, with some saying she died and others saying she’s at a hospital. And we have no doubt that if it was the first thing, the people saying she’s faking it or laughing at her asking for help would have gone on “we need to pay attention to those asking for help” tangents.

Because, you know, apparently what some people do is mock the living victims and then simply seek sympathy for the dead. Like it doesn’t reek of hypocrisy.

What we should do is pay attention regardless of everything else — so what if the best case scenario is that this is a prank? The worst case scenario is that the victim might die and the slightest bit of attention could have helped.

Every sign is important and if we have the option, why should we ever be stingy with our help?