Thursday is National Wear Purple Day. designed to raise awareness about ending domestic violence.
Advocates to End Domestic Violence is a local organization in Carson City that wants the day to be a reminder that many members of our community may be experiencing domestic violence.
Isolation is commonly seen when someone is dealing with domestic violence, but they say by wearing purple we can remind victims that they're not alone.
Lisa Lee, the Executive Director of Advocates to End Domestic Violence, said, "You become more isolated, and you feel like you don't have anybody you can reach out to, and if you feel that way, that's why you give a hotline a call and talk to somebody that way, and then hopefully you can start rebuilding those paths back to your family for that resource that you're going to need and the support that you're going to need."
They tell us it can take several attempts for a victim to leave an abusive situation and actually stay away.
A motivation for leaving that's often seen is their kids, and wanting to break that cycle before the kids are impacted by it long term.
Lee told us, "They were starting to act out, say the same words, say the same put-downs, and the parent realizes that this is having long-term effects on their children, and that's often when they take the very courageous step to leave."
Experts tell us that it's not uncommon to see men fall victim to domestic violence.
Although women are typically the ones known to be victims more often, Advocates to End Domestic Violence works to help men as well.
"We have court advocates at our courthouse that do restraining orders, stalking and harassment orders, and at least 25% of the orders that they help with are male against female, and then in our shelter we also do take males and their children and with them into shelter," said Lee.
They tell us red flags are often ignored, and bad behavior is excused, but it's important to set boundaries early in the relationship to prevent patterns from starting.
Lee told us, "Whether it's abuse or drugs or gambling or other things. You make excuses, and after you make the first excuse and you make the second, before you know it, you're five, six years into it and it's harder to get out. So it's really seeing the red flags that this is not a healthy relationship for you, and you’re not your best when you're in this relationship."
Experts tell us it can be hard to see your loved ones going through a domestic violence situation, but it's important to remind them you're there for them.
