One need only look at the bleak statistics from 2006 to understand the growing problem of domestic violence.

By mid-year, 622 cases of domestic violence had been reported on the Big Island alone, up from 582 for the same period the previous year. Around the same time, eight women were killed in domestic violence-related cases in Hawai'i. And according to the state Department of Human Services, more than half of domestic abuse temporary restraining orders are violated in Hawai'i.

And these are just reported cases.

In households everywhere, millions of men and women continue to endure the emotional and physical pain of abuse, yet are too afraid or ashamed to come forward.

Hawai'i's Domestic Violence Action Center hopes to lift this stigma through its new public awareness campaign, which, for the first time, highlights domestic violence among the state's middle- and upper-income families. Many would assume that victims who fall in these categories would have more access to resources in order to get help — and they're right.

But according to Nanci Kreidman, executive director of the Domestic Violence Action Center, it's exactly those types of perceptions that make these victims easy to overlook. "There remains disbelief that a confident, ambitious, educated person could be subject to abuse," she said.

Indeed, from lavish homes with manicured lawns to homeless shelters, domestic abuse is an epidemic that knows no class, race, age or gender. But through awareness and education, friends, family members and colleagues can better understand this and know what signs to look for.

That's all it takes to help save a life.