The following are safety tips for victims of Domestic Violence.
If you refuse to leave your abuser:
- Find a safe place to go to. If possible, leave the area immediately. DO NOT run to rooms that have weapons in them (such as the kitchen) or into rooms that do not have an exit (such as a bathroom or closet).
- Call the police as soon as possible.
- Make an emergency kit. This kit should include important papers (birth certificates, social security cards, medical information), an emergency credit card, money, change for a pay phone, checkbook, clothes for you and your children, and (if necessary) formula for an infant.
- Memorize all important telephone numbers.
- Talk with close family and friends. Come up with a word that if you use they will know to call for help.
- Remember, you are important and special. No one deserves to live in fear or violence.
If you have left your abuser:
- Change ALL of your phone numbers.
- Get caller ID so that you will know who is calling and so that you have a record of who has called.
- Save and document all contacts, messages, injuries, or other incidents involving the batterer.
- Change the locks if the batterer has a key.
Additional tips:
- Avoid staying alone. If this is not possible, please let someone close to you know where you will be at and when to expect you back. If you have not called or returned, have them notify the police.
- Have an escape route planned at your house.
- If you have to meet your former partner, do so in a public place, and let numerous people know about the meeting. Try not to go alone.
- Try not to take the same route to school and work every day. Try not to settle into a routine. Notify school, work, and childcare centers about your situation.
- Call a domestic violence program for battered women for information, legal referrals, and support.
- If you leave the relationship or are thinking of leaving, take important papers and documents with you to enable you to apply for benefits or take legal action. Important papers you should take include social security cards and birth certificates for you and your children, your marriage license, leases or deeds in your name or both your and your partner’s names, your checkbook, your charge cards, bank and charge account statements, insurance policies, proof of income for you and your partner (pay stubs or W-2’s), and any documents of past incidents of abuse (photos, police reports, medical records, etc.).