No matter what it's called — "bullying," "battering," "domestic violence" or "injustice" — for as long as I can remember, any sign of abuse of power by groups or individuals has made me want to do something about it. So my early activism in the civil rights, peace and women's movements was hardly surprising. But I couldn't have guessed I would spend the bulk of my life learning, teaching and counseling women about violence and emotional abuse in intimate relationships. I couldn't have guessed I would write half a dozen books on those topics.

It took thousands of years for women to speak of their abuse at the hands of their husbands and other intimate partners. And when they did I was part of a small group of activists who determined to be of use to those women. I gathered together women from shelters and the community and listened to the stories of abuse that most had never dared tell before. As each woman heard others describe what they had endured, she understood that she was not alone, and that she was not the one at fault. I continued to meet with groups for over ten years, eventually leading groups for lesbians, teens and African-American women.

Years of leading groups and counseling individual women expanded my knowledge and deepened my understanding. My professional social work training helped me realize that battering is a social problem that will not be stopped until society changes fundamental attitudes. My political work in other movements told me that change would require a long distance race, not just a sprint. But I was confident it could be done. I braided together the three strands of learning - from my political organizing, professional training and what I had learned from hundreds of hours listening to women's individual experiences and it all made its way into Getting Free. I think of the book as a kind of group in print.

At each stage of my work I asked myself, "How can I best share with abused women, grassroots advocates and professional counselors what I've learned?" "How can I work with others to change society to benefit individual women?" Those questions led to writing other books, developing new workshops, organizing to change laws, train police or start an organization - whatever was needed to "do something about it."

SELECTED VITA, AWARDS and HONORS

• King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence "First Annual Ginny NiCarthy Excellence in Advocacy Award," 2007.
• Northwest Women’s Law Center Cynthia Gillespie Award, 2007.
• Honorary Committee Member: Capital Campaign ADWAS (Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services) 2003-current.
• Consultant: Innovative Programs Research Group Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse Pilot Study. Current.
• Board of Directors: Chaya, serving South Asian Women. 2003-2007.
• Board of Directors: King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 2003-5.
• Designated a Feminist Therapy Foremother by the journal, "Women and Therapy," 1995.
• Editor, "International Newsletter Against Violence Against Women" 1985-1991.
• Washington State Book Award: for Getting Free: 1982 www.Sealpress.com
• Innovator Award: King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 1977.
• Founder and director of The Abused Women's Network. 1975.
• A founder and director of Rape Relief. 1972.

• B. A. history, University of Washington
• Teaching credential, University of Washington
• Masters in Social Work (M.S.W.), University of Washington

I have lectured and led workshops on all phases of abuse, women and power, assertion training and numerous other topics for professional therapists and grassroots workers throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Scotland, England, Norway and Mexico. I have taught classes from junior high school through university level and adult education.

Contact Ginny: gnicarthy@broadstripe.net

ABOUT SUE DAVIDSON

Sue Davidson is a writer and editor whose professional work has focused mainly on women's history and women's issues. Her books include the youth biographies Getting the Real Story: Nelly Bly and Ida B. Wells; A Heart in Politics: Jeannette Rankin and Patsy T. Mink; and Changing the Game: The Stories of tennis Champions Alice Marble and Althea Gibson. She edited and contributed to The Second Mile: Contemporary Approaches in Counseling Young Women and is co-editor of The Mamie Papers and A Bobbin, A Strike: Women Needleworkers in America. She was an editor for the Feminist Press from 1974 to 1980. A lifelong opponent of all forms of violence and injustice, Davidson's main affiliations have been with the War Resisters League, the American Friends Service Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union. She is also a member of PEN.

ABOUT CATHY HOOG

Cathy Hoog is the Social Change Specialist at Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services, where she has worked since 1987, providing advocacy to Deaf, Deaf-blind and Hard of Hearing victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence in the greater Seattle area. She works in partnership with both the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs in their projects to provide statewide accessible and appropriate services to victims with disabilities. She is the author of Model Protocol for Safety Planning for Domestic Violence Victims with Disabilities. Cathy who is Deaf and from a Deaf family, is a survivor of domestic violence.