Brittany Lee Lewis Instagram – TW: Domestic Violence October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Today is also my sister’s heavenly birthday. Gina should be celebrating her 40th. To my family’s horror, she was murdered by her ex-fiancé on March 27, 2010.   Raising awareness about domestic violence is important to me. But it should be important to you too. Why? Because I could have never imagined in a million years that a woman so “independent” and “intelligent” as my sister could ever become a victim.  But it is exactly those problematic stereotypes that we must drop as a society. Victims of domestic violence do not look, sound, and act alike, and ANYONE can become a victim. We must continue to educate ourselves and move away from a culture of victim blaming. Perhaps one of the most exhausting remarks I hear is, “why didn’t she just leave?” But we’re asking the wrong question here. You don’t ask the victim why they are victimized. You ask the batterer why they batter.   Despite the overwhelming majority of victims that are stuck in abusive relationships because of financial control, the millions that are connected to their abuser through their children, and the unconceivable cycle of fear and trauma through this coercive pattern of psychological control that our victims face…my sister did leave the relationship. But often, leaving is just not enough. She was part of the 1 in 7 women that are stalked by an intimate partner. Please take a moment to learn about domestic violence. Please teach your children about healthy relationships. Please correct people when they victim blame. Hold abusers accountable. It’s important. It’s important for the 1.3 million women that fall victim each year, but it’s even more important for the parents that had to bury their daughter, for the sister who lost her best friend, and for the children who will navigate their childhood and the rest of their life without a parent. I miss you, Gina. Until we meet again. 💜🙏🏽 If you or someone you know needs support: Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 #EndDomesticViolence #EndDomesticAbuse #StopDomesticViolence #StopDomesticAbuse #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth