In the middle of the night Garth cornered Lisa in the bathroom while hunting for his cocaine pipe. “I’ve hidden it to save our marriage” she said. Saddle River, NJ, 1982.

Mother and son slept peacefully after arriving at the Women Against Abuse shelter. Philadelphia, PA, 1985.

There’s no typical shelter’s resident as there’s no typical battered woman. Women can stay for four to six weeks and have access to legal, financial, medical and job assistance. Minneapolis, MN, 1987.

“He fights all the time but it was never this bad before” Karen sobbed as her boyfriend was arrested. Minneapolis, MN, 1987.

Young woman living in a battered women shelter showed a photograph of her abusive girlfriend. Statistics show that the same rate of abuse happens in homosexual relations as well as heterosexual – 3 out of 5. California, 1989.

The New York Latinas Against Domestic Violence aims to raise awareness of domestic violence and its consequences, particularly in the Latino community in New York City. 1996

Diane and her daughter Denise, were horrifically killed by the mother’s boyfriend. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to life in prison. Washington DC,1994.

away from her life as an abused wife. Southern California, 1998.

Margo left her abusive husband, the father of her four daughters. He was a successful surgeon. When she married him she thought he was the love of her life. But after a escalating series of humiliating physical attacks she knew she had to get away. She asked her father to help her and he replied “Just this once”. After the great escape across the country to California she knew she did the right thing. It was hard with no money. As a single mother, Margo raised her daughters to be self confident and to know their own rights. Mt Tamalpias, CA, 2010.

Ruth divorced her husband in spite of family and social pressure to stay with him as he was the father of her two sons. She told her mother, “My sons don’t recognize me now because of what he has done to me. I’ll never go back.” Philadelphia, PA, 1985.

Women who kill their husbands in self-defense, get the longest sentences. Fifty years or even life without parole is common. Jefferson City, Missouri, 1990.

Shelter workers observe that daughters who’ve seen their mother beaten become quiet, depressed and withdrawn. Mary understood that and became determined to break the chain for the sake of her daughters. St.Paul, Minnesota, 1986.

Scared, injured, pregnant and unable to speak English, Lan moved into Women’s Advocates in St. Paul with her eight children. With the help of another resident, Chao, acting as translator, Lan told an advocate that her husband had been raping and beating her for seven years. St.Paul, Minnesota, 1987.