Tunisian tells harrowing tale of domestic abuse

A Tunisian woman in Italy called on other victims of domestic violence to report their tormentors to police on Wednesday. "I invite all women who suffer beatings and violence to not tolerate what I went through, but to go to the police," said the resident of the northern Italian city of Piacenza. The woman's husband, a 39-year-old Tunisian manual laborer, beat her, forced her to wear full cover and forbid her to see Italian friends. The man also raped her in order to have additional children. At one point, the man struck her on the head with hookah. When the woman sought medical help she told doctors that her wounds were self-inflicted injuries. Twelve years of abuse ended in June when - after yet another beating - the woman reported her husband to police. During police investigations, the man returned to live in Tunisia. The woman remained in Piacenza with her four children.