What Is Sexual Assault? Understanding Consent and Coercion
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This month, we highlight the work we do every day: supporting survivors, creating safe spaces, and helping individuals rebuild a sense of autonomy and dignity. This month is an opportunity to broaden the community’s understanding of sexual assault, consent, coercion, trauma, and how to support survivors. We are using […]
Understanding Different Kinds Of Abuse: Financial
Although physical harm is usually the first thing that comes to mind when people think of abuse, there are many forms of domestic violence. Despite some forms being less visible, they can be just as damaging. Financial abuse is a highly underrecognized type of abuse, but it plays a harmful role in trapping and controlling […]
Coercive Control: Understanding Psychological Abuse
When most people think of abuse in relationships, they often think of physical violence. However, abuse isn’t always visible. Many survivors experience coercive control, a pattern of psychological manipulation and pressure used to control another person. This can include intimidation, isolation, emotional manipulation, threats, guilt, love bombing, or pressuring someone into sexual activity. For teens […]
Understanding Domestic Violence: History, Impact, And How You Can Help
Domestic violence is a complex and widespread issue that affects many different people. Although the movement for change has gained awareness in recent decades, it wasn’t always this way. Domestic violence has often been overlooked or normalized throughout history. Legal protection for survivors was minimal, and abuse inside the home was rarely addressed by authorities. […]
Beyond the Headlines: Understanding Domestic Violence in Our Community
Across Northwest Indiana, sadly, one does not have to look too far to find a story of domestic and or sexual violence in our community. These tragic stories often take the form of a dramatic episode, a visible injury, a clear villain, and a clear victim. But for most survivors in our community, domestic violence […]
Welcome to the Stepping Stone’s Blog: A Place for Healing, Education, and Community
At Stepping Stone, for the past 43 years, our doors have opened not just to provide shelter, but to welcome survivors into something powerful: a community. When we talk about community in the context of domestic violence survival, sexual violence survival, and trafficking survival, we’re talking about something sacred, a network of understanding that says, […]
What Healthy Love Looks Like After Crisis: Hope, Healing, And Relationships
For survivors of domestic violence, the idea of ‘healthy love’ can feel complicated or intimidating. Even the word ‘love’ can carry mixed emotions: longing, fear, grief, and hope all at once. After escaping an abusive relationship, survivors may face challenges when trying to form a new, healthy relationship later on. Trust is fragile, and it […]