A fist to the face.  Words planted in your mind.  Whether it's words, fists, or both, abuse is a destructive and dangerous reality for some people.

Have you ever been the victim of abuse?  If so, you understand the heartbreak, pain, and guilt that creeps into your life, causing you to question your own reality.  In the case of author Yvonne Jones, her uncertainty cost her everything.

• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
• Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women - more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
• Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
• Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or selfharm if presented with a breakup.
• Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
• Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.
• Domestic violence victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the US alone - the equipvalent of 32,000 full-time jobs.
• Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 percent and 95 percent of women who had been physically abused by their partners had never contact non-governmental organizations, shelters, or the police for help.
• The costs of intimate partner violence in the US alone exceed $5.8 billion per year:  $4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.
• Men who as children witnessed their parents' domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.