October is Domestic Violence awareness month. Few people know this. And even fewer people do anything about it.

The reason behind the lack of action involving this tragedy is because of how few people actually know anything about it.

1 in 3 women have been or will be abused or assaulted in her lifetime.

In the U.S. alone, every 9 seconds a woman is beaten or assaulted.

Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.

This isn't just happening to adults. 40 percent of teens from 14 to 17 have reported knowing someone their age who had been hit, beaten or abused by a boyfriend.

These are a few of the scary statistics out there.

We see the stories every day. A famous athlete being penalized for rumors of a domestic violence incident. We hear the stories from our friends about their boyfriend who is oddly possessive or their girlfriend constantly goes through their phone.

These are forms of abuse.

It isn't domestic violence only if you're getting physically hurt by an intimate partner.

It can appear in a variety of ways. The first step to stopping this kind of abuse is knowing what exactly it is.

Domestic violence can be physical, emotional, verbal, or mental.

It isn't black and white. It can be as small as your partner telling you what you can and can't do. It can be as big as your partner hitting you or sexually assaulting you.

This type of abuse is hard to escape from, made harder by the fact that you're often in love with and emotionally invested to the person who is abusing you.

Getting help is never easy, but you can get it. No matter where you are, there are helplines open 24 hours every day.

0808-2000-247 is the National Domestic Violence help desk and can get you in touch with local organizations that can help you.

Tell your best friend or your mom or a counselor. Anyone that you can trust to help you protect yourself from potentially dangerous situations.

Everyone deserves to be loved and have a healthy relationship, free from abuse and pain. By volunteering at local shelters, donating to these shelters, helping survivors find help, offering to listen to someone in a rough situation, or just being aware of the situation.

We can fight this epidemic together. Not just this month, but every day. Let's make that one in three, none in three.