Many of the participants in our studies mentioned how powerful it was for them to share their stories with others as part of their process of overcoming their abuse and the stigma surrounding it.

For example, one participant said, "Just sharing my story has been cathartic. It has been important for me to tell others that abuse is not just physical; most abuse is actually emotional. Emotional abuse is also something important to recognize.”

Another participant said, "“I chose to share my experience with a therapist and select friends in my life instead of keeping it a secret.”

We believe it is important for survivors who choose to share their stories do so in a way that feels safe and meaningful to them. For some, this may mean being very public about their experiences, while others may choose more private ways of sharing. Sharing one's story can be very powerful, but each person can determine if and how to do so in way that makes sense to them and their circumstances.

Accessing support via the Internet seems to be valuable to many survivors of intimate partner violence. For example, two of our participants said they turned to on-line support as they recovered from their abuse:

• “Online support from survivors I've never met has been my only lifeline more than once.”
• “I went to therapy and joined an online support board."

The Internet can connect survivors to others who have similar experiences, inform them of resources that are available to them in their communities, and provide education about the dynamics of intimate partner violence. However, we also encourage survivors and others to be sure to use the Internet safely. We've linked to the National Network to End Domestic Violence's resources on Internet Safety and Domestic Violence before, and we want to remind our users of this great resource again: http://www.nnedv.org/internetsafety.html.