The numbers don’t lie: domestic violence is ongoing and all around us. But we frequently don’t recognize it as it happens, or if we do, we feel powerless to take action.

The 1000 Voices Strong campaign calls on you, whoever you may be – a web surfer, a YouTube user, a friend, a daughter, a neighbor, a witness – to help break the cycle of violence by raising awareness in our communities: awareness of what domestic violence is, that it’s happening, that it is not acceptable, and that it needs to stop.

How can we prevent domestic violence? As individuals, we can offer one-on-one support. We can direct someone to expert resources. We can speak out against abuse when we see it. We can raise our voice. But as a community, we can achieve sustained societal change. By working together, we can create an environment where victims are not isolated, where witnesses can prevent future violence, and where all of our children grow up experiencing safety and respect in relationships.

It’s easy to join the movement. Simply share this video with a friend and ask them to do the same. Through the simple act of sharing this video and starting a discussion, we can change the conversation, change our community, and make a difference.

Want to magnify your voice? Donate to the campaign.

1: Allstate Foundation National Poll on Domestic Violence, 2006

Domestic violence is an escalating pattern of abuse in which one partner in an intimate relationship controls the other through force, intimidation, or the threat of violence.

Domestic violence is more than physical assaults. Domestic violence can include sexual, spiritual, verbal, emotional, psychological, and physical abuse. Abusers also use threats of harm, isolation, privilege, jealousy, finances, and children to exert power over their victims.

Domestic violence does not discriminate. Silence and isolation imprison victims in abusive relationships, which affect every race, economic class, education level, gender, and age group. Domestic violence takes place in all types of intimate relationships—heterosexual, same-sex, marriage, dating, family, and former relationships.

Domestic violence is not your fault. If your partner’s behavior makes you feel unsafe, you are not to blame. If you have experienced abuse, you may have feelings of isolation, fear, shame, and hopelessness. Those feelings are normal and okay. You are not responsible for someone else’s violence.

For 35 years La Casa de las Madres has been serving the San Francisco Bay Area to ensure that community silence is not an option where domestic violence is concerned. We need to talk about it. We need our community to know we are here. We are a strong voice against domestic violence, and we are reaching out to you to lend your voice and strengthen our campaign: 1000 Voices Strong.