Dear future president, 

Domestic abuse can happen to anyone. As the future president, I want there to be places where the victims of domestic abuse can go to feel safe. They need a place to go when they need to talk to someone about what's happening to them. 

Victims of domestic abuse feel unsafe in their own home. They don't know who to talk to about what's happening because the abuser has power and possession over them. The victims need people to talk to about their situation, and to talk about options to help stop it.

If the abuse goes untreated, the emotional and physical consequences can be very severe. The abuse can get gradually more violent and could even end in homicide. The abuser may think it's okay to hurt and threaten their partner because they may have been abused as a child or has witnessed family violence before. 

Domestic abuse is affecting more than 2 million women and 800,000 men. Recent studies have found that 1 in 4 women will be a victim of abuse in their lifetime. It's scary to think about something that bad could happen to one of us. You never think about all the people in abusive relationships until you see the number of women and men getting hurt. 

Sincerely,

Lily H