We are very pleased to have you as a visitor to our web site and hope you will find information here that will be useful to you. Unfortunately, we are unable to address situations and concerns on an individual basis. Your safety is very important to us. This web site, and others like it, are attempting to provide you with a means to obtain relevant information anonymously on the subject of violence against women.

For individuals who are currently in a violent relationship with an abusive partner, the following provides instructions for erasing any traces of your web visits - to our site, or to other sites. We recognize that there is variability in levels of expertise among computer users and have tried to simplify the instructions as much as possible. If you have any suggestions on making this section even simpler to use, please use the feedback form at the bottom to alert us.

Protect Yourself on the Net!
Please read this cautionary note about internet browsing. 

Once you have visited a web site, there are many telltale signs of your visit that can be left on your computer. These clues to your internet browsing are usually due to preference settings that have been formatted in your browser program (Internet Explorer, or Netscape, for example). While these preferences are set for the owner's convenience and are not harmful, you may have a reason to clean them up after you have finished an internet session. This may be particularly true if you are involved with an abusive partner and do not want him/her to know you have been looking at violence against women web sites. Below we have given you a description of the types of files that may be deposited on your computer and instructions on how you may clear them.

Cache Files
Internet sites that you visit may be stored as a "cache" file in the memory of your computer. A cache file is a local version of the web site you downloaded and viewed. These files would be visible to someone who is interested in your web wanderings and who is experienced in searching for such things.

History Bar
Your browser keeps a list of all of the sites you have visited and certain preference settings may retain that history over a specific period of time. This may be cleared or you may set the number of days that the history is available.

Cookies
Other web sites may set a "cookie," which is a file that helps a web site track your visit to them. An example of this are web stores who utilize this technology for shopping carts.

Please note that instructions below pertain to the menu located across the top of your screen. This may vary a little bit according to the software you are using as your browser, but generally the menu from left to right will be something like: File, Edit, View, Go, Window, Help (in Netscape); or File, Edit, View, Favorites, Tools, Help (in Internet Explorer). You will be instructed to locate a specific menu item (such as Edit) and make selections from their drop down menus. Each step of these instructions are separated by the symbol ">" and indicate that you are to make the next selection in the process.

To clear your cache:

In Netscape:
Edit>Preferences>Advanced>Cache>Clear Memory Cache>click OK
Edit>Preferences>Advanced>Cache>Clear Disk Cache>click OK

In Internet Explorer:
Tools>Internet Options>Click on Settings>Click View Files>Edit>Select All>File Delete>click YES
(this will also delete any cookies)