Safety Planning
It is important to plan for your safety and the safety of your family. Use the following steps to create a safety plan:
- Plan for a quick escape. Know where to go and how to get there, any time of the day or night. It is important to have this planned in advance. Consider going to a domestic violence shelter, like the Shelter for Help in Emergency, or the home of a family member, friend, or a hotel.
- If you believe you are about to be assaulted, try to stay out of rooms with weapons such as guns or knives. Do not attempt to threaten the abuser with a weapon, as it may put you in an even more dangerous situation.
- Keep a list of phone numbers of family, friends, doctors, shelter, etc. (If you would like to keep this process discrete, you can use a Disaster Planning sheet such as the one found here: FAMILY EMERGENCY PLAN)
- Gather important documents such as:
- Birth certificates
- Passports
- Prescriptions
- Social security numbers
- Copies of protective orders (for help with obtaining a protective order see Protective Order Process)
- Records of abuser’s past convictions (if any)
- Marriage license
- Insurance information
- Children’s school records
- Medical and immunization records
- Back account information
- Put aside emergency money
- Hide an extra set of car keys (Places such as the bottom of a box of tampons, make up bag, or inside a book)
- Keep an extra set of clothes and shoes for you and your children with a trusted friend or neighbor (including a special toy for your children)
- Let the people you trust know about your situation and the violence you are experiencing and arrange a signal or code word
- Trust yourself and your decisions. You are the one who can best determine how to stay safe
PERSONALIZED SAFETY PLAN
Use these documents to aid in creating your own safety plan:
Basic Safety Plan
Detailed Safety Plan