Blog
Shifting from ‘should’ to ‘could’ can make all the difference
It's hard to know what to do and what to say when someone we care about shares an experience of sexual or domestic violence.
How we offer support can play the biggest role in whether someone feels supported by us. This blog explores how simply shifting our language from giving advice (you should) to providing options (you could) can impact our interactions with survivors.
You are a total boss. You are experiencing relationship abuse. You are not alone.
You can be accomplished. You can be a leader. You can be someone that others look up to, maybe even someone’s hero. You can be crushing it professionally, and you can also be experiencing abuse. Being a leader and experiencing abuse are not mutually exclusive experiences. I felt compelled to write this blog because I see too many accomplished professionals suffering in silence; their image and success have become an additional barrier to seeking and receiving support.
Where is the Accountability?
We are told there’s too little evidence, or too much evidence… the rules keep changing but the outcome is the same: a lack of accountability for those who perpetuate gender-based violence. The criminal justice system was not created to protect survivors and too often it upholds imbalances of power that allow perpetrators to harm again and again.