One in every four women will be a victim of domestic or sexual abuse in the U.S. and every nine seconds a woman is a victim of domestic violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Galya Gonzalez said it was more than a decade ago when she feared for her life because of her husband.
Gonzalez is a survivor of domestic abuse.
The East Los Angeles Women’s Center receives 1,500 victims of sexual or domestic abuse, and receive 1,600 calls to their hotline per year.
"The woman center changed my life,” Gonzalez said.
The last straw for this working mother from Guatemala was when her son's father hit him as a pre-school student.
If she had stayed she would have died she said.
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Gonzalez came to The East Los Angeles Women’s Center for help. She received assistance during her court appearances, psychological treatments and found a safe place for her son.
“We know that it's important to talk about it, and eventually be able to prevent it, because it's a crime that doesn't discriminate,” Stephanie Mesones Alvarado, director of development at The East Los Angeles Women’s Center, said.
“That's why it's important to talk about domestic violence and sexual violence,” Alvarado said. “It affects a lot of women. It also effects one in six men.”
In January, NBC4 reported that domestic violence under the aggravated assault label has gone up, attributed in part because the crime is categorized differently and perhaps because more women are reporting abuse.
The call to action no more imperative now following a recent audit by the city comptroller which found domestic violence services were "disjointed" and that Los Angeles underspends by hundreds of thousands of dollars places like New York and San Francisco.
LAPD domestic abuse prevention teams are still not part of all 21 police divisions as the mayor called for months back.
Today, her son Angel is 22 years old and studying forensic science at Cal State University Los Angeles.
Now in a long time loving relationship, Gonzalez credits finding the strength inside of her to get away, discovering her own self-worth, and said anyone out there who feels abused can do the same.
