Domestic Violence

Personal Safety Plan

You have a right to be safe.

No one deserves to be hit or threatened.  If you are being hurt by someone you love, make plans and take precautions to keep yourself and your children.

Here are some suggestions that have helped other people in situations like yours:

·         If there is an argument, try to be in a place that has an exit and not in a bathroom, kitchen or room that may contain weapons.

·         Practice getting out of your home safely.  Identify which doors, windows, elevator or stairwell to use.

·         Pack a bag and have it ready at a friend’s or relative’s home.

·         Identify one or more neighbors you can tell about the violence and ask them to call the police if they hear a disturbance coming from your home.

·         Devise a code word to use with your children, family, friends, and neighbors when you need them to call law enforcement.

·         Decide and plan where you will go if you ever have to leave home.

·         Use your instincts and judgment.  In some dangerous situations, give the abuser what he wants to calm him down.

·         Open a checking or savings account in your own name.

·         Leave money, an extra set of keys, copies of important documents and extra clothes and/or medicines in a safe place or with someone you trust.

·         Get your own post office box for delivery of your personal mail.

·         If you have pets, arrange for them to be cared for in a safe place.

·         Keep important phone numbers and a calling card for making emergency calls with you at all times.

Safety with a protective order:

If you or your children have been threatened or assaulted, you can request a protective order from the District Attorney’s office.

4                 Always keep your protective order with you.  Call the police if your partner violates the protective order.

4                 Inform family members, friends, neighbors and your employer that you have a protective order in effect.

4                Think of alternative ways to keep safe if the police do not respond immediately.

 Safety in your own residence:

• If you stay in your home, lock your windows and change the locks on your doors as soon as possible.
• Develop a safety plan with your children for times when you are not with them.
• Inform your children's school, daycare, etc. about who has permission to pick up your children.
• Inform your neighbors and landlord that your partner no longer lives with you and tell them to call the police if they see him/her near your home.
• Never tell the abuse where you live.  Never call the abuser from your home, because the abuser may find out where you live.
• Request an unlisted/unpublished phone number from the telephone company.