Keeping Safe: Safety Planning
It is important to plan for your safety in advance. Thinking about safety and doing things differently can make a real difference to your life, and the life of your children (if you have any).
Please click here to view your own Safety Plan which you can print out, fill in and keep. You can also share it with any support worker you may have. But please always consider the following to try and keep yourself , and your children, safe:
- Thinking about what you will do if an incident of violence occurs, how will you ensure your own safety?
- Identify ways of trying to minimise the risk to your children, getting them out of the room, sending them to get help etc. They are reliant on you to make them safe so this is vital.
- Somewhere that you and your children can go in an emergency;
- Talking to friends or family about staying with them in an emergency. Having important telephone numbers available (National 24 hour help-line number, local helpline number, friend, family etc).
- Ensure that you are in touch with key support agencies and call them when you need to, particularly if a crisis occurs. Please be ready to call 999 if you or your children are in immediate danger.
- Ask neighbours and friends to call 999 if they see or hear noises that could mean you or the children are in danger. (Think about what you will scream or shout if you are attacked).
- Using a call box or a friend’s phone to keep calls private from your abuser.
- Teaching your children to use 999 and ask for the police.
- Talking to your children about staying safe, how they get out, where to go etc.
- Keeping birth and marriage certificates, passports, medical cards etc together, or copies in a safe place.
- Keeping benefit books, bank and building society books handy.
- Having rent or mortgage details available.
- Carrying change, a phone card or mobile phone all of the time.
- Carrying your driving license, car registration and details of car insurance.
- Hiding some money, credit cards, and opening your own savings account (but keep this secret from your abuser/s).
- Hiding or leaving spare keys to your house and/or car with someone you can trust.
- Having necessary medication for yourself and/or your children ready.
- Having someone write out a statement of your situation in English if English is not your first language, or you have communication difficulties.
- Having a photograph of your abuser (this is really useful for serving court documents, or to give to security at your workplace etc).
- Deciding what to do about personal items or valuables; e.g. family photos are often important later. Try to get them out of the house and somewhere safe.
- Planning to take all the children that you can with you is important (the longer children are ‘left at home’ the harder it is to get them later).
- Keeping together any documents relating to your immigration status.
- Packing a bag which contains a spare set of clothes for yourself and the children, and any other things that are important including: favourite toys, important documents, important photographs, a spare set of keys for the house/car, a bit of money if possible, and if possible get the bag out and store it with a trusted friend;
- Accessing s good solicitor who will be able to explain legal options, your panic about your situation will be reduced if you knows your legal rights;
- Telling people you trust about the abuse and get a trusted friend to ring/check on you at least once a day-using key words that will identify to your friend whether you are safe or need help is very important.
