“I wish I could put into words what it’s like…you are so broken as a person.”

After enduring years of abuse and domestic violence, Brenda Clubine was put behind bars for killing her husband. While serving time at the California Institution for Women, she met other women who shared similar stories, and founded an inmate-initiated and inmate-led support group to help abused women, Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA). (Nearly eighty percent of female inmates have experienced abuse in their lives.)

After serving 26 years in prison, Brenda Clubine was released, thanks in part to her advocacy work with CWAA. Brenda’s first act of freedom was to call her son. “I had to learn how to use a cell phone to call my son,” she recalled. “Things change while you’re in prison. They don’t teach you how to use a cell phone when you see it on TV.”

To highlight Brenda Clubine’s story, and raise awareness about domestic violence issues, Investigation Discovery, in conjunction with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), hosted a screening and panel discussion event in Washington, D.C. earlier today. Brenda’s tale is one of several featured in the documentary, Sin by Silence, which makes its world television premiere on Investigation Discovery on Monday, October 17, at 8pm ET. In addition to Brenda, who is celebrating her 50th birthday today, other panel speakers included Olivia Klaus, Director and Producer of Sin by Silence and Paulette Sullivan Moore, Vice President of Public Policy for NNEDV.

All three panelists encouraged attendees to help spread the word about domestic violence issues. As Brenda noted, “We fail by keeping the silence silent.”

Watch the trailer for Sin by Silence and RSVP to join the film’s director and producer, Olivia Klaus, for a chat on Facebook during the premiere on Monday night.