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Watch: Kerry Washington Stands Up Against Domestic Violence

Kerry Washington in “Scandal”: John Fleenor/ABC

Kerry Washington is speaking out against domestic violence. For the third year, the “Scandal” star has signed on to serve as an ambassador for the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse campaign, which supports victims and survivors of domestic and financial abuse.

Washington described this collaboration as an “ideal partnership,” and told People that she wants to “participate and work in areas that are very important to me, meaning both fashion and supporting women’s empowerment.” For the past two years, Washington has designed a bag with the foundation to benefit the Purple Purse campaign. The third bag will be released this fall.

The “Confirmation” actress referred to her role as an ambassador as an “honor” because she “love[s] 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.”

A new video, “America’s Largest Prison Break,” has been released to kick off the foundation’s #FreetoWalk campaign, designed to bring awareness to the some of the barriers that keep women trapped in abusive relationships.

“Financial abuse is such an invisible weapon,” explained Washington. “It’s not something we think of.” While we can see black eyes and bruising, and “think a lot about emotional abuse,” Washington emphasized how important it is to recognize 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.”

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

Last year Washington was honored with GLAAD’s Vanguard Award, given in recognition of media professionals who promote equality and make a significant difference.

Check out “America’s Largest Prison Break” below. The clip is based on a true story.


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