What would you do if a friend told you that her partner was violent towards her?
Last month we raised this question with the girls and young women who are members of our private Facebook group, “Fireflies”. No one replied that she would ignore her friend or think that it’s none of her business. In fact, more than half of the respondents would start a conversation with the friend, and the rest would talk with the friend or her parents, trying to imply to her that she is in an unhealthy relationship, and even contact the police or confront her partner.
Last month we shared the shared a post discussing the severe impacts of domestic violence and how difficult it is to detect. As we mentioned, educational staff in Israel often struggles to do so. We are happy to engage our youth in important conversations about intimate partner violence and to raise awareness. It’s heartwarming for us to know that no one would leave their friend alone in a violent and risky situation. We should never ignore and should be there for those who experience violence. Everyone must stay alert, listen, support, assist, help, refer, act, speak, shout. We should not leave anyone alone.
If you want to learn more about ELEM’s work online go here.
