During National Stalking Awareness Month, the Gabby Petito Foundation is honored to spotlight advocates who have transformed personal harm into protection for others. Lenora Claire is one of those advocates.

When someone is experiencing harassment, stalking, or unwanted contact, one of the most powerful tools they can have is documentation.

Leaving an unhealthy or abusive relationship is often described as the hardest step, but for many people, what comes after can feel even more difficult.

Emotional abuse rarely begins with obvious harm. There isn’t always a moment that feels clearly wrong or alarming. More often, it starts subtly, through the tiniest behavioral shifts that are easy to dismiss, explain away, or misunderstand.

Jealousy is one of the most misunderstood emotions in relationships. It’s often framed as passion, devotion, or proof that someone cares deeply. Movies romanticize it. Social media jokes about it. Friends may even reassure one another that jealousy is “normal.”

Many people wonder why someone stays in a relationship that causes harm. From the outside, the answer may seem obvious, but from the inside, the reality is far more complex.

Emotional abuse doesn’t always look the way people expect it to. It often develops slowly, quietly, and without clear boundaries, making it difficult to recognize, especially in the early stages of a relationship.

Young adults today live in a world where relationships unfold across text messages, social media, apps, and shared locations. Technology connects us, but it can also create new pathways for control, manipulation, and harm. 

Read Tiffany’s story about how she found herself in an abusive relationship a second time. “Don’t just look for bruises. Look for uncharacteristic changes. Look for silence. For the girl who stopped dreaming. The one who used to call but suddenly doesn't. That’s your red flag.”