Family and Friends' Guide to Domestic Violence: How to Listen, Talk and Take Action When Someone You Care About is Being Abused

It's hard to know what to do when someone you care about is in an abusive relationship. Do you ask about it? What if you're wrong? Do you offer to help? Even at the risk of interfering?

If you have observed any of the following warning signs from a family member or friend, she may be a victim. You can help her--and, you might be saving her life!

WARNING SIGNS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE:

Unexplainable injuries
She has very little to say about her life
She becomes timid when her husband or boyfriend is around
She distances herself from people and acts withdrawn
Her social relationships have narrowed
He makes all the rules
He puts her down in public
She is afraid

Says author Elaine Weiss, who also wrote "Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of Women Who Broke Free", Volcano Press, "Domestic violence doesn't just happen out there. It happens in our town, in our neighborhood, on our street. It happens to women we see at the supermarket, the movie theater, and the PTA. It happens to our friends and our co-workers. It happens to our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, and ourselves."