Abuse affects everyone. It is not a private matter. Children of survivors, friends and family, employers, the whole community, suffer in the wake of sexual or domestic abuse.

You can help stop the cycle and devastation of violence simply by combatting the attitudes and myths that allow abuse to occur in our society.

• Challenge sexist, racist, misogynistic, and homophobic comments wherever you hear them.

• Talk about the warning signs of abuse when you see them in popular culture and in your daily life. They are everywhere! The more people identify them as signs of abuse, the less abusers will be able to get away with their behavior.

• Talk straightforwardly with your kids about equality, what makes for a healthy relationship and healthy sexuality, and what makes for an unhealthy relationship or unhealthy sexual dynamic.

• Encourage schools to include violence prevention programs in their curricula (read about our Berkshire Violence Prevention Program here)

• Lobby local, state, and federal officials to highlight the issue and fund domestic violence and sexual assault response programs

• Recognize the ways in which survivor safety is tied to economic self-sufficiency and support efforts to create economic opportunities for survivors and low-income individuals, including access to affordable childcare, affordable housing, improved public transportation, and job training