For the third year in a row,My Dad's Hot Girlfriend 30 Film Scandal actress Kerry Washington has announced a partnership with the Allstate Foundation's Purple Purse, an initiative to alleviate the financial burden of those experiencing domestic abuse.
As part of its #FreeToWalk campaign, the initiative released a short film online, which, according to People, captures the struggles of a real mother dealing with domestic violence and financial abuse.
The video stresses that the number one reason women can't "just leave" an abusive relationship is "because they're being abused financially."
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The initiative's site states that 100 percent of donations go to organizations that help people escape abusive relationships.
"We can see black eyes and we can see bruising and I think, we think a lot about the emotional abuse, and all of those things are valid, but to know that financial abuse is the number one reason why women stay and why they can't walk away – it matters so much to be able to do something about that because it unlocks the solutions in the other areas as well," Washington said in People.
Kerry Washington attends the Purple Purse Launch at The Plaza Hotel on September 24, 2015 in New York City. Credit: cindy ord/getty Washington explained to Peoplehow a purse could help alleviate domestic violence.
"Abuse is hard to talk about, so we thought a purse is a beautiful object that can get the conversation started," Washington told the magazine in 2014. "It is a symbol of a woman's financial domain."
The new bag will be released this fall.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224.
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