How can I help someone else?
If someone approaches you to tell you about abuse that they have endured:
Listen to her
give her the space and time to tell you whatever she wants to tell you
Believe her
your task is to support, not be the judge of who is right and who is wrong
Allow her
to give you as much detail about the abuse as she would like to
Do not judge her
these are very complex situations and judgment does not help to solve them
Do not tell her what to do
be open to the fact that there are a number of possible outcomes to the situation
Refer her to this site
so that she can learn about the help available to her
Be there for her
If she wants to be able to contact you in an emergency and you are comfortable with this, agree with her and ask her what she would like you to do if you get a call from her in an emergency