First and foremost, I am a fan of Rihanna (#RIHANNANAVY!!!) and proudly own most of her albums.

By February 20 (Rihanna's birthday), Rihanna (represented by Def Jam) and Chris Brown (represented by Sony) released remixes of their songs; Rihanna re-released "Birthday Cake" featuring Chris Brown, while Chris Brown released "Turn Up The Music" featuring Rihanna.

Their actions are irresponsible and quite unfortunate. Both public figures are choosing to use their positions as such to heavily spotlight a reconciliation that sets a dangerous example to many young couples struggling (or who may one day struggle) to leave an abusive relationship. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY VICTIMS RETURN TO THEIR ABUSERS, AND TOO OFTEN THE RESULTS ARE NOT POSITIVE. On average, three women die at the hands of a current or former intimate partner every day. (Source: http://bit.ly/y4aTvm)

SIGN THE PETITION & Urge Island Def Jam Music Group (Rihanna's label) & Sony Music Entertainment (Chris Brown's label) to pull the recordings from release, and put the lives of young dating abuse victims before the music and relationship of another.

FACT: In 2009, Rihanna confronted Chris Brown about text messages he sent to another woman whom he had a previous sexual relationship with. He proceeded to severely beat her as she tried to get away/call for help, at one point threatening, "I'm really going to kill you." (Full police report: http://bit.ly/wjKehH)

FACT: Chris Brown has consistently exemplified anger problems since the 2009 assault of then-girlfriend of over a year Rihanna. Most notably in 2011, when he stormed off the set of Good Morning America, trashed his dressing room, and smashed a window by throwing a chair after Robin Roberts, like any journalist would do to a public figure seeking to mend his/her tarnished public image, asked about the assault. (Full story: http://abcn.ws/zzmhXB)

FACT: Rihanna agrees her actions send other youth a strong message. In a November 2009 interview with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna said about returning with Chris after the assault: "When I realized my selfish decision for love could result in a young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that. Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say that they won't kill these girls?" (Full story: http://abcn.ws/xmCxto)

FACT: Many young women, in response to CBS and The GRAMMYs decision to prominently celebrate Chris Brown during the 2012 telecast, took Chris' history lightly, taking to Twitter to say things like, "Chris Brown can beat me anytime he wants!" (via BuzzFeed: http://bit.ly/Aek0DX)

FACT: Domestic violence is very, very common. 1 in 4 teens will experience teen dating violence. In NYC for example: NYPD responds to an average of 600 calls a day, while the NYC Domestic Violence Hotline receives an average of 300 calls a day. (Source: http://thehealingcenterny.org)

FACT: Every relationship is different, but too frequently abuse is part of a cycle and CAN and WILL happen again. (http://www.breakthecycle.org/dating-violence-101)

SIGN THE PETITION & Urge Island Def Jam Music Group (Rihanna's label) & Sony Music Entertainment (Chris Brown's label) to pull the recordings from release, and put the lives of young dating abuse victims before the music and relationship of another.

*******************
Information on Victims of Dating Abuse Returning to Abuser
(via National Network to End Domestic Violence, http://bit.ly/y4aTvm)

Q: Why do victims sometimes return to or stay with abusers?

A: A better question is, “Why does the abuser choose to abuse?” The deck is stacked against the victim when confronted with leaving or not. Abusers work very hard to keep victims in relationships.There is a real fear of death or more abuse if they leave.

In fact, a victim’s risk of getting killed greatly increases when they are in the process of leaving or have just left. On average, three women die at the hands of a current or former intimate partner every day.

***We, as a community, must do more to ensure the safety of victims when they leave.****

Batterers are very good at making victims think that the abuse is their fault. Victims often believe that if they caused the violence, they can also stop it. Victims stay because they are made to think they cannot survive on their own, financially or otherwise. Often abusers create a financial situation that makes leaving nearly impossible.

Survivors sometimes want the abuse to end, not the relationship. A survivor may return to the abuser because that’s the person she the survivor fell in love with, and she believes his promises to change. It’s not easy for anyone to let go of hopes and dreams.