Personalized safety plan
- Being ready for a crisis
- Planning to leave
- After I leave
- At work and in public
- With an Order of Protection
- Items to take when leaving
- My emotional health
- Reduce your risk
Being ready for a crisis
-
I can leave
- If I decide to leave, I will ______________________________________.
(Practice how to get out safely. What doors, windows,
elevators, stairwells or fire escapes would you use?)
- I can keep my purse and car keys ready and put them _____________
in order to leave quickly.
- I will leave money and an extra set of keys with ________________
so I can leave quickly.
- I will keep copies of important documents or keys at _____________________.
- I can teach my children how to use the telephone to contact the
police and the fire department. I will make sure they know the address.
- If I have a programmable phone, I can program emergency numbers
and teach my children how to use the auto dial.
- I will use _______________ as my code word with my children or
my friends so they will call for help.
- If I have to leave my home, I will go ____________________. If I cannot go
to the above location, I can go ________________________.
- The domestic violence hotline number is _____________. I can call
it if I need shelter.
- If it’s not safe to talk openly, I will use ______________ as the code word/signal to my children that we are going to go, or to my family or friends that we are coming.
I can get help
I can use my judgment
Planning to Leave
- I will call a domestic violence program and get help making my plans. The
hotline number for the nearest program is ___________________.
- I will leave money and an extra set of keys with __________ so that I can
leave quickly.
- I will keep copies of important documents or keys at
___________________________________.
- I can leave extra clothes with ___________________.
- I will keep important numbers and change for phone calls with me at all
times. I know that my partner can learn who I’ve been talking to by looking at
phone bills, so I can see if friends will let me use their phones and/or their
phone credit cards.
- I will check with ____________ and _______________ to see who would be able to let me stay with them or lend me some money.
- I can increase my independence by opening a bank account and getting credit cards in my own name; taking classes or getting job skills; getting copies of all the important papers and documents I might need and keeping them with ____________________.
- Other things I can do to increase my independence include: _____________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________.
- I can rehearse my escape plan and, if appropriate, practice it with my children.
After I Leave- I can change the locks on my doors and windows.
- I can replace wooden doors with steel/metal doors.
- I can install security systems including additional locks, window bars, poles
to wedge against doors, an electronic system, etc.
- I can purchase rope ladders to be used for escape from second floor
windows.
- I can install smoke detectors and put fire extinguishers on each floor in my
home.
- I will teach my children how to use the phone to make a collect call to me
if they are concerned about their safety.
- I can tell people who take care of my children which people have
permission to pick them up and make sure they know how to recognize those
people.
- I will give the people who take care of my children copies of custody and protective orders, and emergency numbers.
At Work and in Public- I can inform my boss, the security supervisor and/or Employee Assistance
Program about my situation. My workplace EAP number is _______.
- I can ask __________________ to screen my calls at work.
- When leaving work, I can ______________________________.
- When traveling to and from work, if there’s trouble, I can _____________________________________.
- I can change my patterns— avoid stores, banks, doctor’s appointments,
laundromats and ______________________, places where my partner
might find me.
- I can tell ______________ and ____________________ that I am no longer with my partner and ask them to call the police if they believe my children or I are in danger.
With an Order of Protection- I will keep my protection order _______________. (Always keep it on or
near your person.)
- I will give copies of my protection order to police departments in the
community in which I live and those where I visit friends and family.
- I will give copies to my employer, my religious advisor, my closest friend,
my children’s school and day care center and_________________.
- If my partner destroys my order or if I lose it, I can get another copy from
the court that issued it.
- If my partner violates the order, I can call the police and report a violation,
contact my attorney, call my advocate, and/or advise the court of the
violation.
- I can call a domestic violence program if I have questions about how to enforce an order or if I have problems getting it enforced.
Items to Take When Leaving- Identification for myself
- Children’s birth certificates
- My birth certificate
- Social Security cards
- School/vaccination records
- Money, checkbook, bank books, ATM cards
- Credit cards
- Medication
- Keys - house, car, office
- Driver’s license/car registration
- Insurance papers
- Public Assistance ID/Medicaid Cards
- Passports, green cards, work permits
- Divorce or separation papers
- Lease, rental agreement or house deed
- Car/mortgage payment book
- Children’s toys, security blankets, stuffed animals
- Sentimental items, photos
- My Personalized Safety Plan
My Emotional Health- If I am feeling down, lonely or confused, I can call __________________
or the domestic violence hot line _________________.
- I can take care of my physical health needs by getting a checkup with my
doctor, gyne cologist and dentist. If I don’t have a doctor, I will call the local
clinic or ___________ to get one.
- If I have left my partner and am considering returning, I will call
____________________ or spend time with __________ before I make a
decision.
- I will remind myself daily of my best qualities. They are:
______________
_________________________________________________________
________________________
- I can attend support groups, workshops, or classes at the local domestic
violence pro gram or __________________ in order to build a support
system, learn skills or get in formation.
- I will look at how and when I drink alcohol or use other drugs. If I am going
to drink/ use other drugs, I will do it in a place where people are com mitted
to my safety.
- I can read one or more of the books listed in this guide’s bibliography that
were written for battered women.
- Other things I can do to feel stronger are: __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________.
Reduce your risk
No battered woman has control over her partner’s violence, but women can and do find ways to reduce their risk of harm. This safety plan is a tool to assist you in identifying options, evaluating those options and committing to a plan to reduce your risk when confronted with the threat of harm or with actual harm.
There’s no right or wrong way to develop a safety plan. Use what applies. Add to it. Change it to reflect your particular situation. Make it your own, then review it regularly and make changes as needed.
If you’re unable to find a safe place to keep a written safety plan where your partner won’t find it, maybe you can ask a friend to keep a copy for you. If not, you can ask your local domestic violence program to keep your plan for you. Whether it’s safe to write down your plan or not, it’s still important to make one.
You don't have to figure it all out on your own.
You can ask a domestic violence advocate for help.
The Personalized safety plan was adapted from the Personalized Safety Plan developed by Office of the City Attorney, City of San Diego, CA, April 1990.
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Go back to Safety Zone home page - I will check with ____________ and _______________ to see who would be able to let me stay with them or lend me some money.