{"id":10509,"date":"2020-03-20T12:29:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T19:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/btsadv.wpengine.com\/?p=10509"},"modified":"2020-03-20T12:29:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T19:29:53","slug":"survivor-story-i-endured-violent-sexual-and-physical-assaults-as-a-teen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509","title":{"rendered":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submitted by: *Reina, Survivor<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Trigger Warning<\/em><\/strong>: This story contains\ndescriptions of physical and sexual violence that some survivors may find\nparticularly upsetting. Please consider your triggers and well-being before\nreading past this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Many victims of domestic violence experience sexual violence\nas part of their abuse in the relationship. Although an increasing volume of information\nabout sexual abuse in relationships is becoming more widely available, it is\nnot uncommon for a victim of abuse to not know the sexual violence they are\nbeing subjected to constitutes abuse. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehotline.org\/resources\/statistics\/\">National Domestic Violence\nHotline<\/a>, about 10% of women reported being raped by an intimate partner,\nwith 20% of survivors reporting that they experienced dating violence before\nthe age of 17.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Reina met her abuser when she was just 14 years old.\nAfter talking for a year, he gave her a ride home and raped her. As the\nviolence escalated, Reina learned she was pregnant and faced a heartbreaking decision\nto abort the pregnancy. Reina shares with us how the abuse she experienced affected\nher both during the abuse and after leaving the relationship and how important\nit is for victims and survivors to know that sexual violence occurring in the\ncontext of a relationship is still abuse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a 21-year-old, I never thought I\u2019d spend time early in\n2020 telling my story on domestic and sexual violence. My story started when I\nwas 14, and he was much older than me \u2013 already in his 20\u2019s. We had spent a\nyear talking and getting to know each other before getting involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>After being raped, sexual violence abuse became a\nnormal dynamic in the relationship.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because we had known each other for a while, I felt\ncomfortable accepting when he offered me a ride home from a party one Friday night\nin June 2014. It was the first time I ever had sex and the first time I was\never raped. I could hardly walk for days afterward, and what followed was six\nyears of routine sexual violence. A few times, I was hospitalized because he\nwould use objects that caused severe internal injuries, and as a result, I have\nbeen left with long-term medical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a while, it escalated to include general physical\nviolence, like holding bags and pillows over my head, trying to break my wrists,\nand smashing my head on things when he got frustrated. He regularly called me\nnames and had even secretly recorded our intimate moments to show all his\nfriends. I quickly learned that he had a fixation for things that triggered\nfear and panic, including suffocating me until I couldn\u2019t breathe. He often\ntold me how he fantasized about killing me, the various ways he would carry it\nout, and what he would do to cover it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>When Reina shared that she was pregnant, the man who\nabused her threatened her to abort their unborn child. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, I became pregnant. He threatened my life and made menacing\nthreats about using a coat hanger If I did not abort the baby. During the same\nweek we discovered that I was carrying his child, the abuse escalated to a new\nlevel of violence. When I asked him if he would ever do those things to me in\nfront of our baby, he could not answer the question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the danger I faced, I knew what I had to do. My\nabortion was to save me, and most importantly, my little baby from him. Afterward,\nhe only gave me 48 hours before he sexually assaulted me again, leading to an\ninfection. I was beyond miserable. Once I reached the age of 20, I noticed he\nwas more interested in younger girls around 15 or 16 years old. I had enough\nand broke off the relationship, but that did not stop him from trying to get to\nme. He would stalk my house and continue to make death threats against me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Reina wants to use her experiences to help others who\nmay not know that sexual abuse and violence can happen in a relationship.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I feel that I was completely let down by the police, so I am\ntrying to help myself feel more empowered and use my story to help empower\nothers. Rarely do I see much information on sexual violence in relationships. I\nthink that is why it had taken so long for me to realize how abusive my\nrelationship truly was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sharing my story has a purpose. I hope what I went through\ncan help others who have similar experiences, because I needed someone to enlighten\nme on the reality of what I was going through. As a result of the abuse, I now\nhave to deal with long-term physical injuries, and every time it impacts my\ndaily life, it triggers memories that take me straight back to the man that\ncaused them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am determined to make something of myself despite this. I\nam more than just a victim. I am a survivor, and I will shine as a young woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>*Name(s) have been changed \u2013 and in some cases omitted \u2013 to protect the identity of the survivor and others affected by the abuse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>**If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, there is\nhelp. You can visit the Break the Silence website at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\"><em>www.breakthesilencedv.org<\/em><\/a><em>, chat\nwith one of our helpline advocates at 855-287-1777, or send a private message\nthrough our Facebook page. For crisis services, you can contact the National\nDomestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>========<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>What\u2019s YOUR Raw\nTruth?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sharing our\nstories can be incredibly empowering while also helping others connect with\nsurvivors who have similar experiences. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you are\ninspired to share your story with us, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/break-your-silence\/\"><em>submit here<\/em><\/a><em>. You can choose to remain anonymous.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Our programs are possible because of our amazing community of\nsupporters. If you\u2019d like to make a financial gift to support our services,\nplease visit our <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/donate\/\"><em>donation\npage<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Submitted by: *Reina, Survivor Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence that some survivors may find particularly upsetting. Please consider your triggers and well-being before reading past this point. Many victims of domestic violence experience sexual violence as part of their abuse in the relationship. Although an increasing volume of information [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[186,90,116,117,178,143,72,130,36,128,34],"class_list":["post-10509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-break-your-silence","tag-abortion","tag-domestic-violence","tag-emotional-abuse","tag-physical-abuse","tag-pregnancy","tag-sexual-abuse","tag-sexual-assault","tag-stalking","tag-teen-dating-violence","tag-trauma","tag-verbal-abuse"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Submitted by: *Reina, Survivor Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence that some survivors may find particularly upsetting. Please consider your triggers and well-being before reading past this point. Many victims of domestic violence experience sexual violence as part of their abuse in the relationship. Although an increasing volume of information [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BreakTheSilenceDV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/btsadv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@btsadv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BreakTheSilenceDV\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BreakTheSilenceDV\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/611d3ddcf8366d51a12320459dce3e0f\"},\"headline\":\"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509\"},\"wordCount\":994,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"abortion\",\"domestic violence\",\"emotional abuse\",\"physical abuse\",\"pregnancy\",\"sexual abuse\",\"Sexual Assault\",\"stalking\",\"Teen Dating Violence\",\"trauma\",\"verbal abuse\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Break Your Silence\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509\",\"name\":\"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?p=10509#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\",\"description\":\"The National Voice of Domestic Violence\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/breakthesilence_logo_2021-01-e1611794569296.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/breakthesilence_logo_2021-01-e1611794569296.png\",\"width\":3930,\"height\":1160,\"caption\":\"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/btsadv\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/btsadv\",\"http:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/btsadv\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/btsadv\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/611d3ddcf8366d51a12320459dce3e0f\",\"name\":\"BreakTheSilenceDV\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BreakTheSilenceDV\"},\"description\":\"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence beyond crisis. BTSADV focuses on long-term healing through financial assistance programs, scholarships, survivor retreats, advocacy initiatives, and a national support line. The organization works to amplify survivor voices, raise awareness about coercive control and systemic failures, and help break generational cycles of abuse through education, outreach, and community engagement.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/btsadv\",\"http:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/btsadv\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/btsadv\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/in.pinterest.com\\\/btsadv\\\/domestic-violence-awareness\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/btsadv\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@BTSADV\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/breakthesilencedv.org\\\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","og_description":"Submitted by: *Reina, Survivor Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence that some survivors may find particularly upsetting. Please consider your triggers and well-being before reading past this point. Many victims of domestic violence experience sexual violence as part of their abuse in the relationship. Although an increasing volume of information [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509","og_site_name":"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv","article_published_time":"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00","author":"BreakTheSilenceDV","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/btsadv","twitter_site":"@btsadv","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BreakTheSilenceDV","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509"},"author":{"name":"BreakTheSilenceDV","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#\/schema\/person\/611d3ddcf8366d51a12320459dce3e0f"},"headline":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen","datePublished":"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509"},"wordCount":994,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["abortion","domestic violence","emotional abuse","physical abuse","pregnancy","sexual abuse","Sexual Assault","stalking","Teen Dating Violence","trauma","verbal abuse"],"articleSection":["Break Your Silence"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509","url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509","name":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-20T19:29:40+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-20T19:29:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10509#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Survivor Story: I Endured Violent Sexual and Physical Assaults as a Teen"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/","name":"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","description":"The National Voice of Domestic Violence","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#organization","name":"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence","url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/breakthesilence_logo_2021-01-e1611794569296.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/breakthesilence_logo_2021-01-e1611794569296.png","width":3930,"height":1160,"caption":"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv","https:\/\/x.com\/btsadv","http:\/\/instagram.com\/btsadv","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/btsadv"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/#\/schema\/person\/611d3ddcf8366d51a12320459dce3e0f","name":"BreakTheSilenceDV","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b0fa2a8da157468b242814f52247b720deb58aaf72ab7000af81bece654029?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BreakTheSilenceDV"},"description":"Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence beyond crisis. BTSADV focuses on long-term healing through financial assistance programs, scholarships, survivor retreats, advocacy initiatives, and a national support line. The organization works to amplify survivor voices, raise awareness about coercive control and systemic failures, and help break generational cycles of abuse through education, outreach, and community engagement.","sameAs":["https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/btsadv","http:\/\/instagram.com\/btsadv","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/btsadv\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/in.pinterest.com\/btsadv\/domestic-violence-awareness\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/btsadv","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@BTSADV"],"url":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}