For most people, the word "abuse" in a relationship triggers images of physical violence, but this isn't always the case. Abuse can be defined as "a repetitive pattern of behaviors to maintain power and control over an intimate partner." The term can be further broken down into categories of physical, emotional, psychological, economic, and sexual abuse. Despite the assumption that physical violence is the leading type, emotional and psychological abuse are actually the most common in today's relationships.These forms focus on belittling the victim and making him or her feel isolated from others.
From these unfortunate circumstances, the hashtag #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou was born; Zahira Kelly began the hashtag by starting a series of tweets with the words "maybe he doesn't hit u," followed by examples of the emotional abuse she endured in her relationship.
After reading Kelly's tweets, women across the world were inspired to share their own stories of abuse inflicted by domestic partners.
The National Domestic Abuse Hotline is available 24/7 for anyone affected by domestic abuse. If you need help, please call them at 1-800-799-SAFE or engage in a live chat session.
If you want to help end domestic violence, whether men, women, or children are targeted, you can donate to The National Domestic Abuse Hotline. Another option is to donate to Safe Horizon; Safe Horizon has a campaign labeled #PutTheNailinIt, which involves donating before painting your left ring finger in a shade of purple.
Let's make a pact to fill social media with purple nails as we work together to end abuse.
