Not everyone has to take the dramatic measures Debbie had to, to escape her violent relationship.
But make no mistake this is a life or death situation.
I looked into options available to you here in Eastern Idaho. Here's what I found.
"I had left five times before...the 7th time an abused woman leaves, she leaves in a body bag." -Debbie Horton
Recent laws in Idaho are trying to make sure no one leaves in a body bag. And it's a coordinated effort between law enforcement, the courts and supports centers.
Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkin's Junior Says, "We're recognizing that Domestic Violence is not just a personal family matter, but these are criminal offenses that affect that family, the family members in the home and the entire community."
Now When police go on a domestic violence call, if there's evidence abuse took place, they must make an arrest.
Teena McBride with the Domestic Violence Intervention Center explains how the new laws help the victim by taking the burden off her. "The pro-arrest policy also really starts to take it off the victim...They're not responsible for pressing charges.
Bonneville County alone gets around 1500 domestic calls a year and 300 to 400 of those end up as cases in Domestic Violence Court.... But it's there, that the abusers are held accountable for for their actions.
"The conditions are that you comply fully with the evaluation and take any classes or treatment recommended." -Judge Riddock in Domestic Violence Court
A no contact order is immediately issued.
"You must obtain and complete a minimum of 52 weeks counseling program." -Judge Riddock
That program will help both the victim and the abuser overcome the issues they face, in hopes of breaking the cycle of violence.
But as Margene Neeley found out in Bingham County, The court process can be slow. "These court hearings that are supposed to be ending the thing and they're not ending it...do it in a timely manner."
Margene's has taken 6 Month's so far and her abuser has changed his plea several times. She often feels left in the dark as to what is happening. "They need to quit letting the person that did this to the victim pull them little puppet strings."
And You may remember Debbie Schultz she killed her husband in self defense when he was attacking her...
"And then he sees the gun and he grabs the gun and I get the gun away from him and he starts choking me and telling me that he's going to kill me and it was, I either die or he die and I pulled the trigger."
This is a recent example of what happens if that cycle of violence isn't broken...someone will loose their life and it doesn't have to come to that.
If you are in a violent relationship, there are people here to help you. From the judge all the way down to the victim's advocate and the Domestic Violence Intervention Center...you are not alone.
And one thing that might help when your case goes to trial is if you or someone who is close to you has documented everything, every black eye, every phone call, everything, no matter how small it seems at the time. The more evidence the prosecutor has, the easier it is to get a guilty verdict.