I recently wrote an article about the intricacies of emotional abuse in relationships. It uncovered the subtle ways emotional abuse rears its ugly head. Why is this relevant? Well as I said previously, “Abuse in relationships is an ongoing problem in the United States considering that one in three adolescents is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from their significant other.” Therefore, this is definitely a cause that everyone should be interested in bringing awareness to. A foundation devoted to doing just that is One Love Foundation.
One Love is a movement that began as a memorial to Yeardley Love, a young woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend less than a month before she was due to graduate from the University of Virginia. Using this tragic incident as a cause worth fighting for, One Love continues to honor Yeardley by educating and empowering students in the movement to end relationship abuse. One Love’s team develops technology based tools and resources to accomplish those goals. Their outreach program, known as Escalation Workshop, can be brought to any university (find your school here) to educate those whose risks for relationship violence are 3 times greater than others. Another way to get involved is by supporting #ThatsNotLove, their digital campaign that shines light on the so called “gray area” between love and abuse in relationships. The latest addition to #ThatsNotLove is their powerful video project “Love Labyrinth”.
Love Labyrinth puts emphasis on the hidden dangers that emotional abuse breeds. The video exemplifies the alarming speed at which a seemingly healthy relationship can evolve into a “labyrinth” of abuse. It highlights the focal points of emotional abuse: manipulation, isolation, scare tactics, hopelessness, and loneliness. Emotional abuse can be rather complicated to identify and even more complex to resolve. To tackle those issues, Love Labyrinth depicts emotional abuse in a way that is easy to understand. Watch the Love Labyrinth video here.
One Love Foundation is a great starter point for those looking to further their advocacy, support those in need, or find help themselves. By participating in #ThatsNotLove, you can discover the Love Labyrinth and be one step closer to ending relationship abuse in your own life or share it in order to help end abuse in the lives of others. As always, education is the first step: “Emotional abuse is often seen as a cloudy subject that is hard to recognize, but once you know the signs it will become quite clear whether it is abuse or not. Check out this demonstration and take this quiz to see if your relationship is exhibiting signs of abuse.” Also, make sure to check out the plethora of resources One Love has to offer for those in need of help. Supporting One Love Foundation is supporting the 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in this country who will be in a violent relationship during his or her lifetime. One Love introduces a new campaign every couple of months, but for now – you can delve into the Love Labyrinth and discover the true nature of relationship abuse.
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