A personalized safety plan is a guide to ways to help keep you, your children, and your pets safe whether you are living in a domestic violence situation, planning to leave, or have already left. Safety planning can help you prepare in advance for different possibilities, set up things you may need in the future (copies of important documents, extra keys, etc.), talk with trusted family, friends or neighbors , and much more.
Because every situation is unique, a good safety plan will be designed to fit your specific situation. A plan may include what to do during an abusive incident, safety planning with children, safety planning during pregnancy, technology safety (phones, social media, GPS devices, etc.), safety planning for friends and relatives, and safety planning for pets.
For instance, during an abusive incident, try to move away from the kitchen, bathroom, and other areas where there may be easily reached weapons. Avoid wearing long scarves and jewelry that can become a weapon, and if you think an incident may be coming, put up long hair so it can’t be grabbed easily.
At The Safe Center, we can help you safety plan for your particular situation through the hotline at 516-542-0404.
A new free Tech Safety App by the National Network to End Domestic Violence helps users understand how a particular technology could be misused to harass or stalk, what they can do about it, and offers safety tips on how to increase their safety and privacy. The app also includes a wide range of resources, and can be found at TechSafetyApp.org.
There are also good safety planning resources online, three of which are listed below. If you think your abuser might be able to access your devices, it may be better to explore these and other related sites from a public computer, such as at a library.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Domestic Violence Resource Center
National Network to End Domestic Violence –technology safety
Alberta Rubin, Senior Director of Client Services