Disclaimer: If you are currently in an abusive situation and worry that the abuser may track your Internet activity, a safer way to use the Internet might be to use a public computer, a friend’s computer, or a workplace computer. For immediate, confidential, free help with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) and consider doing so from a friend's phone, a public phone, or through WiFi calling and deleting your call log afterwards.
To experience abuse or violence—at the hands of a loved one or a stranger—is such a powerful violation that it can damage our perceived safety & wellbeing while distorting our own self-worth. Without support, we may find unorthodox or self-destructive ways of coping that feel like our only refuge from the pain, terror, and trauma of our lived experiences. This can include substance abuse or changes in our mental health such as dissociation, depression, PTSD, self-blame, or self-harm.
Sexual abuse (SA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are experienced by people from all age groups, regardless of community, education or income level, culture, ethnicity, faith, ability, or lifestyle.
If you have experienced abuse or violence, please know that it is not your fault. NO ONE deserves to experience abuse or violence– for any reason. You DO NOT have to go through this alone.
If you are here because you are concerned for a loved one who may be experiencing abuse or suffering from sexual trauma, please know there are resources to help you show up as well (view the Helping Others Experiencing Violence, Assault, or Abuse section below)