Blog Archives

"I hope one day...to be an advocate"

5/31/2013

Naming Abuse

5/30/2013

One of the participants in our study said, “I began using the word ‘abusive’ to describe my relationship with my husband, and the behavior that caused me to end the marriage. While others may be uncomfortable with that word, I think it's important to not minimize what occurred.”

As this participant says, sometimes others may be uncomfortable with the words that survivors use to describe their experiences. And yet, in what ways do you believe that naming abusive behaviors as "abuse" can be helpful for survivors?

"I have refocused what I consider to be 'success'"

5/29/2013

"I have power over my own life"

5/27/2013

"I had the ability to overcome this obstacle"

5/24/2013

"I found strength within myself"

5/22/2013

The power of sharing one's story

5/21/2013

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.

"I decided to stop feeling embarrassed"

5/20/2013

"I decided I wanted to take care of and rescue myself"

5/17/2013

On-line support for survivors

5/16/2013

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.

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