ORANJESTAD (AAN) – Social Worker Rish-Ann Ammerlaan of the Fundacion Contra Violencia Relacional (FCVR) highlighted in an interview with Matutino DIARIO that multiple factors play a role in relational violence among people aged 19 and older. These cases often stem from experiences within the foundation’s community and are increasingly alarming.
Ammerlaan emphasized that low self-esteem and childhood abandonment by a parent are significant contributing factors. “I often see adults carrying unresolved childhood wounds, saying, ‘I prefer to endure and tolerate everything because I never had the family environment I wanted,’” she noted.
She stressed the importance of addressing these early-life wounds, explaining that without intervention, individuals may continue patterns of tolerance and unhealthy relationships throughout their lives. According to Ammerlaan, lack of self-esteem, childhood trauma, and abandonment frequently lead people to interpret tolerance of harmful behavior as love.
The cases she encounters at FCVR demonstrate the ongoing impact of childhood experiences on relational violence and underscore the need for early awareness and intervention.
