Personal Safety Plan

What is a personal safety plan?

A personal safety plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your children from a batterer. It prepares you in advance for the possibility of further violence and may increase both your children's and your own chance of surviving further violent episodes by your abuser. A Personal Safety Plan is a plan of action that you can take when further violence or abuse is about to occur. When physical, emotional, or sexual violence has occurred once in your relationship, it makes sense to be prepared in case it happens again. Statistics reveal that once violence occurs in your relationship it is likely to occur again.

Although you do not have control over your partner's violent behavior, you do have a choice about how to best respond to the behavior and get your children and yourself to safety. You know your partner's behavior patterns. Use this knowledge in developing your own Safety Plan.

Step 1: Things to prepare in advance

Many battered victims cannot always avoid violent incidents that occur between their partners and themselves. In order to increase safety you may use a variety of the following strategies:

• Teach your children how to call 911.
• Tell someone you know you can trust (a friend or relative) what is going on.
• Arrange in advance for a safe place to go (this must be a location that your partner does not know about).
• Have a bag of clothing, medications, and other necessary items prepared in advance for yourself and your children to use if you need to leave quickly (the bag should be hidden or kept by a trusted person that you can get to in a hurry). List of things to consider packing in the bag.
• Make copies of your important papers (keep one copy in the bag and give other copies to trusted friends and relatives). List of important documents to consider packing.
• Make an extra set of important keys (car, house, mailbox, etc.).

Step 2: Safety during a violent episode

• If you can, during an episode of violence or abuse get yourself and your children out of the location. List of shelters.
• As soon as you can safely do so, call 911.
• If you cannot get out, stay away from the kitchen, bathroom, garage, or any other rooms that you know are potentially dangerous or contain weapons (it is also recommended that you try to avoid getting into arguments with your partner in these areas).

Step 3: Safety at work, in public and at daycare

• You should carefully choose who to confide in about your situation.
• You could inform your boss, supervisor, or daycare provider employees.
• You can ask a co-employee to screen phone calls you receive at work.
• While walking to your car you can ask someone to walk with you.
• You can carry a cellular phone with you in case you need to call for help. Domestic Violence Cellular Phone Program.

Step 4: Safety at home

There are many things that you can do to increase your safety at home. It may not be possible to do every thing suggested here, but you might be able to add some of these ideas step by step over a period of time.

• Change the locks on your doors.
• Replace wooden doors with metal doors.
• Install a security system.
• Add additional locks, window bars, and use dowels to wedge against doors and windows.
• Purchase rope ladders to be used for escape from second floor windows or access points.
• Install outdoor lighting and motion sensors.
• Teach your children how to make a collect call on the telephone in case your partner takes them away from you.
• Keep safety planning materials well hidden and secret from your abuser.

If you are planning to leave your batterer, you must carefully plan how and when you are going to leave. Batterers often strike out in violence when they believe that they are losing control of the other person in the relationship.

If you feel you want or need to talk to someone about developing a Personal Safety Plan there are many resources available for you. Remember, if you print a copy of this material, KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE and away from your abusive partner.

State and National Domestic Violence related web sites and resources