Safety Plan (from Sarah’s Inn)
You do not deserve to be abused. You have every right to be safe and free from fear in your home and your workplace. You cannot stop an abuser’s behavior, only the abuser can. However, you can help develop a safety plan that can help you increase your safety when there is an abusive incident. It’s a good idea to develop a safety plan before the next abusive incident so that you can be prepared. Keep a bag packed with important items so that you can leave quickly if you need to.

Every situation is different and what follows are guidelines. Even by following all of the guidelines, safety cannot be guaranteed because abusers are extremely unpredictable. Use your judgement and instincts when responding to potentially violent situations or instances of abuse. Call the crisis line when it is safe for additional information or form case-specific advice.

Things to Take With You If You Have to Leave

• Money, checkbook, passbook
• Identification - driver’s license, Social Security card, passport, green card, public assistance ID, work permit, etc.
• Order of Protection
• Birth certificates - yours and your children’s
• Clothing
• Lease, rental agreement or house deed
• Insurance papers
• House and car keys
• Medications
• Jewelry/saleable objects
• Address Book
• School Records
• Toys
• Numbers to local domestic violence programs

Safety at Home

• Develop a safety plan and discuss it with your children. Review the plan as often as possible.
• Change the locks and install devices to secure your windows.
• Make sure your children’s school, day-care center, or camp knows who is authorized to pick up your children.
• Tell your neighbors and landlord that your abuser no longer lives there and ask them to call the police if they see him or her near your home.
• Before you resume a potentially abusive relationship, discuss alternatives with someone you trust.

Safety in Public or at Work

• If you have an Order of Protection, keep it with you at all times.
• Inform building security and coworkers you trust of your situation.
• If possible, provide a photograph of your abuser to building security.
• Vary your routes to and from work and arrange for someone to escort you to your car, bus or train.
• Plan what to do in various situations if the abuser confronts you.

Safety During an Abusive Incident

• If an argument seems unavoidable, move to a room or area with easy access to an exit - not a bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere near weapons.
• Identify which door, window, stairwell or elevator offers the quickest way out of the home - and practice your route.
• Have a bag packed and ready. Keep it in an undisclosed but accessible place where you can retrieve it quickly.
• Find neighbors you can tell about the violence and ask that they call the police if they hear a disturbance.
• Devise a code word to use with your children, family, friends, and neighbors when you need the police.
• Decide where you will go if you have to leave, even if you do not think it will come to that.
• Use your instincts and judgment. Consider giving the abuser what he or she wants to defuse a dangerous situation.

St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program, Inc., assumes no responsibility for any injuries or loss which may occur as a result of reliance on such guidelines.