Safety Planning

If you are in an abusive relationship, safety planning can be essential in reducing the amount of risk that you and your children face. By having a safety plan in place, you will know what to do in case of an emergency and will be better prepared to leave safely.

There is no right or wrong way to make a safety plan; it should above all be something that will work for you. Review it often and make changes as you need to; if possible, review it with a social worker, domestic violence worker, or police officer.

Who Uses a Safety Plan

Safety plans are used by people who:

• Want to leave an abusive situation, but need help doing so safely
• Are not sure about leaving but want to have an option in case the domestic violence escalates
• Have already left an abusive situation and are still worried about the threat of domestic violence