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Many women were shocked when Janay Rice, wife of an NFL player who was videotaped beating her, came out to defend her husband. It's disturbing to know that she married her then-boyfriend just a month after that attack. Why did she stay with him after what he did to her? For that matter, why does any woman stay with an abusive partner?
Women have taken to Twitter to answer that question in very personal ways. They are using the hashtag #WhyIStayed. And the bare honesty of their stories will take your breath away.
More from The Stir: Expert Shares 12 Signs You're Still in an Abusive Relationship
There are so many reasons why women stay -- starting with not recognizing when they're being abused.
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#whyistayed"I didn't think verbal abuse and emotional manipulation was considered an abusive relationship"
— Gracie (@Gdub635) September 10, 2014Shame is a huge factor in domestic abuse.
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#whyistayed He said it was my fault, everyone would hate me if I left and I felt ashamed for even staying as long
— Jessica Santos (@rawrjessirawr) September 10, 2014Substance abuse can turn someone you love into someone unrecognizable ... and leave you hanging on, hoping he'll get better for good.
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#WhyIStayed I fell in love when he was 16 & sober. We got together when he was far from sober. To this day, I still love sober him...
— DemonEmond (@2demonsfighting) September 10, 2014This is a huge reason why moms especially have a hard time leaving abusive husbands and boyfriends -- they don't want to break up the family.
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I didn't want to break up my family #WhyIStayed
— Jen (@phunnyinlove) September 10, 2014But your kids are always watching and learning. Breaking up the family may be the healthiest thing you can do for your kids.
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#WhyIStayed like mother like daughter, I thought that was the was love was suppose to be. #WhenILeft I knew he was going to kill.
— babyD (@babyD2103) September 10, 2014Unfortunately, DiGiorno Pizza jumped on the hashtag without knowing what it was about -- resulting in a colossally stupid gaffe.
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Hello! This is social media 101: #DontJumpOnEveryHashtag! They apologized quickly.
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A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) September 9, 2014Back to the women's stories, this is one of the biggest reasons why women don't leave abusive relationships, why they won't get help, why they can be so hard to reach.
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#WhyIStayed I didn't want to face the truth
— Chloé Lauvray (@cinnaaa) September 10, 2014My hunch is this is a big reason why Janay Rice has stayed.
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i was taught that love means you keep by their side no matter what #whyistayed
— nati de la vega (@faviestrella) September 10, 2014Some women are adding #WhyILeft to share the trigger that finally helped them break away.
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#whyistayed he always made me feel like it was my fault, or "made it better" #whyileft he did it in front of my friend, I was humiliated..
— Kristin Terry (@nitsirk__) September 10, 2014[code]
#whyistayed Because he told me I was too dumb to survive without him. #whyileft I opened up to someone and they helped me and my son get out
— Jen Ingerson (@JingersonNeuro) September 10, 2014Here's hoping the powerful stories about why women stayed -- and why they left -- will help the countless other women in pain who remain silent. I hope this gives them courage to speak up and get the help they need.
Have you ever been a victim of domestic abuse? Why did you stay? What got you to leave?
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