Intimate Partner Violence

Resources for Survivors in Crisis

If you are currently in an abusive relationship, please know this: you are not alone, and you deserve to be safe.

Reclaiming the Erotic is a program for survivors who are no longer in active abusive relationships. If you are still navigating harm or planning to leave, this page offers support and resources to guide you through that process with care, safety, and love.

📞 Emergency & 24/7 Hotlines

National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.)
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) | thehotline.org
Confidential, 24/7 call, text, or chat support.

Love Is Respect (For Teens & Young Adults)
1-866-331-9474 | Text “LOVEIS” to 22522 | loveisrespect.org
Peer-centered help and education.

StrongHearts Native Helpline
1-844-762-8483 | strongheartshelpline.org
Culturally rooted support for Native American survivors.

Trans Lifeline
1-877-565-8860 | translifeline.org
Support by and for trans folks. Crisis and resource guidance.

🏠 Shelter & Local Resource Finders

DomesticShelters.org
domesticshelters.org
Find shelters, emergency housing, and local services.

WomensLaw.org – Help by State
womenslaw.org/find-help
State-specific legal help, hotlines, and shelters.

Black Women’s Blueprint
blackwomensblueprint.org
Trauma-informed healing and advocacy for Black women and girls.

The Network/La Red
tnlr.org
Support for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled survivors.

🧭 Tools for Safety & Planning

myPlan App
myplanapp.org
A private, secure way to create a personalized safety plan.

Safety Planning Guide (The Hotline)
thehotline.org/plan-for-safety
Step-by-step guidance for safe exit planning.

Legal Help
womenslaw.org
Info on restraining orders, custody, housing, and immigration.

💛 You Deserve Safety & Support

  • You do not have to wait until things get “bad enough” to seek help.

  • Abuse can be emotional, verbal, physical, financial, digital, or spiritual.

  • Love should never hurt or diminish who you are.

  • You are worthy of care, freedom, and safety—always.

🌿 From My Heart to Yours

Leaving an abusive relationship is one of the most courageous and sacred acts of self-love.

You are not broken. You are not alone.

As you take steps toward your safety, know that I am holding you in deep care.

You are powerful. You are sacred. You are already beginning your healing.

— Nana Chinara

💔 General Statistics on IPV (U.S.)

Did you know that it takes an average of seven times for a survivor to leave an abusive relationship?

  • 1 in 3 women in the U.S. will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
    (Source: CDC, 2017 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey)

  • Over half of all female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.
    (Source: CDC, 2020)

  • Emotional abuse is the most common form of IPV, affecting more than 40 million women in the U.S.
    (Source: National Domestic Violence Hotline)

🖤 Black Women & IPV

  • More than 45% of Black women have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking in their lifetime.
    (Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2017)

  • Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be murdered by a man than white women—and nearly always by someone they know.
    (Source: Violence Policy Center, 2021)

  • Systemic racism, economic disparities, and criminalization of Black survivors create barriers to accessing support.
    (Source: Black Women’s Blueprint & Ujima Inc.)

🌈 Queer & Trans Survivors

  • 44% of lesbian women and 61% of bisexual women experience IPV in their lifetime.
    (Source: CDC, NISVS 2010)

  • 54% of transgender individuals report experiencing intimate partner violence—including physical and sexual abuse.
    (Source: U.S. Transgender Survey, 2015)

  • LGBTQ+ survivors are less likely to be believed and more likely to face discrimination when seeking help.
    (Source: The Network/La Red)

🧠 Survivorship & Mental Health

  • Survivors of IPV are 3 to 5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
    (Source: American Psychological Association)

  • Many survivors also experience dissociation, body dysregulation, and challenges with pleasure or intimacy even years after leaving.
    (Source: Trauma-informed therapy models & IPV survivor studies)

🌿 What These Numbers Mean

  • If you’ve experienced IPV, you are not alone.

  • You don’t have to minimize what happened to you.

  • Healing is nonlinear—but it is possible.

  • Your story matters. Your body matters. Your joy is revolutionary.