This is NPR's Life Kit and I'm Kavita Kadoza.

A quick heads up.

This episode includes details about violence and abuse.

This episode is about how to support a friend who's going through domestic abuse or intimate

partner violence as it's called within romantic or intimate relationships.

While domestic abuse can author-happen within families or households,

we'll be focusing on how to support a friend who's in an abusive intimate relationship.

And before you say I don't know anyone like that, consider this.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one in three women

and more than one in four men in the US have experienced rape, physical violence and or

stalking by an intimate partner. So chances are all of us know someone who has is or will experience

intimate partner violence. This abuse comes in many forms, emotional, physical, verbal,

financial, sexual, digital. Now, maybe you have a feeling something is off in your friend's

relationship. Maybe you know something is going on but you're thinking it's way too sensitive

or it's not in my business or I can't really do anything about it. But Lisa Aronson-Fontes,

a senior lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst says you can be an enormous source of strength.

These days a lot of us live far from our families of origin or maybe we have issues with them.

Friends have a special place in our lives. They're more apt to be in a similar age and really

understand what we're going through. So friends become crucial sources of support and information

and even safety sometimes for people who are going through a violent relationship.

In this episode of LifeKit we're going to look at practical ways to help a friend who might be

experiencing abuse. Whether it's a friend or a family member, family can be friends, you can help.

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