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Personalized Domestic Violence Safety Plan

11/06

Personalized Domestic Violence Safety Plan

The following steps represent my plan for addressing my safety and preparing in advance for the possibility of further

violence. Although I do not have control over my partner's violence, I do have a choice about how to respond to him

or her and how to best get myself and my children to safety.

Step 1: Safety during a violent incident. Battered partners cannot always avoid violent incidents. In order to

increase safety, battered partners may use a variety of strategies.

I can use some or all of the following strategies:

A. If I decide to leave, I will _____________________________________________________________________

(What doors, windows, elevators, stairwells, or fire escapes would you use?)

B. I can keep my purse and car keys ready and put them (where) ______________________________________

C. I can tell ____________________________________________________________ about the violence and

request they call the police if they hear suspicious noises coming from my house.

D. I can teach my children how to use the telephone to call 911.

E. I will use ________________________ as my code word with my children or friends so they can call for help.

F. If I have to leave my home, I will go ____________________________or____________________________.

G. I can also teach some of these strategies to some/all of my children.

H. When I expect the abuse is about to occur, I will try to move to a space that is lowest risk, such as

________________________________ (Try to avoid arguments in the bathroom, garage, kitchen, near

weapons, or in rooms without access to an outside door).

I. I will use my judgment and intuition. I have to protect myself until I/we are out of danger.

Step 2: Safety when preparing to leave. Battered partners frequently leave the residence they share with the

battering partner. Leaving must be done with a careful plan in order to increase safety. Batterers often strike back

when they believe that a battered partner is leaving a relationship. I can use some or all of the following strategies:

A. I will leave money and an extra set of keys with __________________________________________________

B. I will keep copies of important documents or keys at _______________________________________________

C. I will open a savings account by ______________________________________________________________

D. Other things I can do to increase my independence include: (Increased

independence can lead to increased risk.)

________________________________________________________________________________________

E. The domestic violence program's hotline number is _______________________________________________

F. I can keep change for phone calls on me at all times. I understand that if I use my telephone credit card, the

following month the telephone bill will tell my batterer those numbers I called after I left. To keep my telephone

calls confidential, I must either use coins or I might get a friend to permit me to use their telephone credit card

for a limited time when I first leave.

G. I will check with ___________________________________ and ___________________________________

to see who would be able to let me stay with them or lend me some money.

H. I can leave extra clothes with _______________________________________________________________

I. I will sit down and review my safety plan every __________________________________________________

in order to plan the safest way to leave the residence and make any changes necessary.

J. I will rehearse my escape plan and, as appropriate, practice it with my children.

Step 3: Safety in my own residence. There are many things a battered partner can do to increase safety in his/her

own residence. It may be impossible to do everything at once, but safety measures can be added step by step.

Safety measures I can use include:

A. I can change the locks on my doors and windows as soon as possible.

B. I can replace wooden doors with steel/metal doors.

C. I can install security systems including additional locks, window bars, poles to wedge against doors, and

electronic system, etc.

D. I can purchase rope ladders to be used for escape from second floor windows.

E. I can install smoke detectors and purchase fire extinguishers for each floor in my house/apartment.

F. I can install an outside lighting system that lights up when a person is coming close to my house.

G. I will teach my children how to use the telephone to make a collect call to me and to

_________________________________ (friend/minister/other) in the event that my partner takes the children.

H. I will tell the people who take care of my children which people have permission to pick up my children and that

my partner is not permitted to do so. The people I will inform about pick-up permission include:

DSS-5233

Family Support and Child Welfare

Form Dss-5233 - Personalized Domestic Violence Safety Plan - Family Support And Child Welfare

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