Dear Pastor,

I am a regular reader of your column. I have a big problem. My child's father constantly beats me up whenever he wants us to have sex, and it really is making me think about doing some crazy things. I even thought about killing myself. My mother told me not to talk to him when we started talking, but I went behind her back and still talked to him.

I really enjoy sex with him but I hate when he beats me up. We have one child together. I told him that I was on the pill when I wasn't because I wanted to have a child by him. Now I am sorry because all he does is beat me and make me feel as if I am nobody. I just need someone to love me and care for me.

M.D., Clarendon, Jamaica

Dear M. D.,

The next time this man beats you, you should have him arrested. In fact, you should warn him that you are planning to go to the police if he attempts to do so again. If he threatens you, you should also report him. Make sure that you go in person and speak to a senior police officer.

It's unfortunate that you did not listen to your parents. They saw that there was nothing good in this man.

and they discouraged you from becoming intimate with him. But you foolishly continue the relationship and lied about being on the pill. Now you have a baby by a man who is behaving as a brute. No girl should stay with a man who is an abuser.

Pastor