The Hotline is the only national 24-hour domestic violence hotline providing compassionate support, life-saving resources and personalized safety planning via phone, online chat and text. Services are provided in English and Spanish through bilingual advocates and in more than 200 other languages through interpretation.

As always, the safety of survivors is our primary concern. Our advocates are available 24/7 to answer questions and give advice about internet safety for survivors. They can suggest things like:

• Managing your search and browsing history
• Using computers found at your local library, Internet cafe, shelter, workplace or computer technology center
• Setting up an alternate email account that a partner doesn’t know about

Swiftly connecting survivors with support is critical right now, because the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated risk factors for domestic violence. More people are experiencing isolation and are limited in their ability to go to work, go to school or see friends and family. The pandemic has also accelerated an increase in economic and housing instability for many experiencing abuse: Since 2016, housing instability as a concern has grown by an average of 20% annually among those contacting The Hotline.

All these factors heighten the risk of relationship abuse, and limit the ability of survivors to reach out for support. COVID-19 has left many survivors feeling trapped in their homes with an abusive partner – with limited time to get resources or information. To learn more about how the pandemic has affected survivors, read our Year One report.

Through this partnership with Google, we want to ensure the first resource people see when searching for domestic violence is reliable, helpful information that empowers them to get support as quickly as possible.

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