A topic of discussion that we have covered lately is that of domestic violence. Although we have discussed the prevalence of this issue in relation to women of poor, minority, and immigrant backgrounds, this is an issue that affects women of a higher status and class as well. The main question that we have tried to find the answer to, is why it is so prevalent. I believe that everyone around the country is aware of this issue, but putting a stop to it is the hard part. Above, I have a picture of an extremely popular music artist, Rihanna, who went through a highly publicized domestic violence case with another famous celebrity, Chris Brown back in 2009. In a lot of cases of domestic violence, we have found that the victims decide not to come forward because they feel ashamed, guilty, or blame themselves for the incident. Rihanna had no choice but to come forward, however in an interview she did some time later, she admitted that she blamed herself as well, and even admitted to getting back together with him because she thought he would never do it again, and that he would change. I find that this is the case for several other victims of domestic violence, and that alone is a reason that it is so prevalent. The women who are victims of domestic violence often fall for the cycle of abuse- the honeymoon, or reconciliation phase, the calm phase, then the tension building phase occurs again, and then finally, the incident. It happens time and time again and these women feel scared to leave or even come forward about it. The only way that this can be stopped is if these victims let their voices be heard. Celebrities have a platform that they can use to inform millions of people about the things that they feel strongly about, in hopes of touching their hearts and changing lives, and Rihanna used her case of domestic violence to do just that.