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RESOURCES FOR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND ALLIES OF
EMOTIONAL ABUSE SURVIVORS

If you’re here, it means someone important to you is experiencing or has experienced emotional abuse. Your support can make a world of difference. By educating yourself, you’re already taking a crucial step in being a compassionate, effective ally.

HOW TO SUPPORT A SURVIVOR
  1. Listen Without Judgment: Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is simply listen. Believe them. Don’t question their experience or suggest it “wasn’t that bad.”
     

  2. Educate Yourself: The more you understand about emotional abuse, the better you can support your loved one.
     

  3. Respect Their Choices: Every survivor’s journey is unique. Avoid pushing them to take actions they’re not ready for.
     

  4. Offer Practical Help: This could be anything from helping with childcare to accompanying them to appointments.
     

  5. Take Care of Yourself: Supporting a survivor can be emotionally taxing. Make sure you’re also taking care of your own mental health.
     

WHAT NOT TO DO
  • Don’t blame the survivor or ask what they did to “provoke” the abuse.

  • Avoid giving ultimatums or trying to force them to leave before they’re ready.

  • Don’t share their story without their explicit permission.

UNDERSTANDING

YOUR ROLE
 

As an ally, you have the power to:

  • Validate their experiences

  • Offer unwavering support

  • Help break the silence surrounding emotional abuse

TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You are part of a crucial support network. As friends, family members, and allies of emotional abuse survivors, your role is invaluable. Together, we’re creating a world where:

• Emotional abuse is recognized and called out by those who witness it
• Survivors are believed, supported, and empowered by their community
• Healthy, loving relationships are modeled and encouraged

Every act of support you offer, no matter how small, makes a difference. Your compassion? It’s more powerful than you know. Your voice? It amplifies the truth and challenges abuse.

You’re not just a bystander – you’re an essential part of a network of protectors, supporters, and change-makers. The first step in becoming an ally is educating yourself about emotional abuse, which you can do by reading our articles written for friends, family, and allies below.

This is your loved one’s fight, but it’s also yours. And together, we can create lasting change.

Because Emotional Abuse is Real, and You Deserve to Heal.

You deserve love that feels safe, not suffocating. You deserve peace, not pain. And you deserve to be free—not just from abuse, but from the lingering shadows it tries to leave behind.

No matter where you are in your journey, remember this: you are stronger than you know, braver than you feel, and worthy of the life you dream of.

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If you are a victim or wish to report an incident, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline

© 2025 by It's Still Abuse Inc.

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