Domestic violence is any emotional, physical or sexual abuse by someone you know, often by an intimate partner. Rather than being an isolated event, domestic violence tends to recur and to increase in severity over time. Without intervention, domestic violence will continue.

Victims of domestic violence often must wrestle with feelings of fear, loyalty, guilt and shame. Their children live in fear and are at high risk of becoming abusive adults and/or victims themselves. Because victims are often socially and geographically isolated, as well as financially dependent, many victims live out their lives in fear, unaware that help is available.

Today, as more and more communities are responding to the needs of these victims, more and more victims are reaching out. Many communities now have shelters where victims and their children can go to escape the violence, vocational programs to provide victims with the skills to make it on their own, and concerned persons ready to help with emotional support and understanding. In Washington State, the Domestic Violence Hotline brings victims and these services together.