Kerry Washington Campaigns to End Domestic Violence

Actress Kerry Washington has signed on to be an ambassador for the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse campaign, which benefits victims and survivors of domestic and financial abuse.

The Scandal actress tells People,

To be an ambassador for the Allstate Foundation and for Purple Purse is an honor for me, because I love being able to be a part of real, long-term solutions for giving security, and wisdom, and knowledge and empowerment for domestic violence victims and survivors.”

This year, the Purple Purse 2016 Domestic Violence campaign from the Allstate Foundation launches the #FreetoWalk campaign, which calls “attention to the barriers that keep women trapped in abusive relationships,” according to the foundation.

Kerry adds that abuse isn’t just physical:

Financial abuse is such an invisible weapon. 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.

And for the last two years, Washington has teamed up with the foundation to design a bag,

The goal is to really end the cycle of abuse so that … the choice to have a Purple Purse is solely esthetic and not about making a difference and changing lives through fashion.

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