Nearly a decade ago, it was hard for Lynne Roy to even talk about her experience with domestic abuse.
Today, she's able to talk and tweet about it.
"I mean it's humiliating. It's something a lot of women don't talk about because it's embarrassing. We don't want to admit to it,” said Roy.
Thousands more also turned to Twitter to talk about domestic violence after a video of NFL football player Ray Rice surfaced on line, showing him assaulting his wife.
Using the hashtags, #WhyILeft and #WhyIStayed, the conversation started trending worldwide.
Roy is also a social media expert. She’s usually busy monitoring other trends online but this conversation is one she had to join to help at least one more person to find a way out of domestic abuse, she said.
"It sparked into a conversation between women and violence and how to protect yourself and how to get out and really, basically, just telling our story and just going out there and the importance around that issue," said Roy.
Tanya McFayden counsels women through the West Central Women's Resource Centre. She thinks the online conversation is a good one but adds victims, who are mostly women, shouldn't be shamed or forced to leave their partners if they're not ready.
"I often ask after I listened to (a woman’s) story, what is it that you would like me to do in supporting you? What's the next step?" said McFayden.
She also said more also needs to be done to inspire abusers to talk about their experiences, as way to help them.
