Safety Planning : General
How to protect yourself at home
• Learn where to get help; memorize emergency phone numbers
• Keep a phone in a room you can lock from the inside; if you can, get a cellular phone that you keep with you at all times
• If the abuser has moved out, change the locks on your door; get locks on the windows
• Plan an escape route out of your home; teach it to your children
• Think about where you would go if you need to escape
• Ask your neighbors to call the police if they see the abuser at your house; make a signal for them to call the police, for example, if the phone rings twice, a shade is pulled down or a light is on
• Pack a bag with important things you'd need if you had to leave quickly; put it in a safe place, or give it to a friend or relative you trust
• Include cash, car keys & important information such as: court papers, passport or birth certificates, medical records & medicines, immigration papers
• Get an unlisted phone number
• Block caller ID
• Use an answering machine; screen the calls
• Take a good self-defense course
How to make your children safer
• Teach them not to get in the middle of a fight, even if they want to help
• Teach them how to get to safety, to call 911,
to give your address & phone number to the police
• Teach them who to call for help
• Tell them to stay out of the kitchen
• Give the principal at school or the daycare center a copy of your court order; tell them not to release your children to anyone without talking to you first; use a password so they can be sure it is you on the phone; give them a photo of the abuser
• Make sure the children know who to tell at school if they see the abuser
• Make sure that the school knows not to give
your address or phone number to ANYONE
How to protect yourself outside the home
• Change your regular travel habits
• Try to get rides with different people
• Shop and bank in a different place
• Cancel any bank accounts or credit cards you shared;
open new accounts at a different bank
• Keep your court order and emergency numbers with you at all times
• Keep a cell phone & program it to 911 (or other emergency number)
How to make yourself safer at work
• Keep a copy of your court order at work
• Give a picture of the abuser to security and friends at work
• Tell your supervisors - see if they can make it harder for the abuser to find you
• Don't go to lunch alone
• Ask a security guard to walk you to your car or to the bus
• If the abuser calls you at work, save voice mail and save e-mail
• Your employer may be able to help you find community resources