Last Updated: 22 July 1996
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE
TDD for the Hearing Impaired: 1-800-787-3224

What is a Safety Plan?

Every individual in an abusive relationship needs a safety plan. The District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence has published wallet-sized card that gives names and phone numbers of shelters, legal services, and support groups, and lists basic elements of a safety plan. (The number is listed in the back.) Shelters and crisis counselors have been urging safety plans for years, police departments, victim services, hospitals, and courts have adopted this strategy. Safety plans should be individualized -- for example, taking account of age, marital status, whether children are involved, geographic location, and resources available -- but still contain common elements.

When creating a safety plan:

Think about all possible escape routes. Doors, first-floor windows, basement exits, elevators, stairwells. Rehearse if possible.
Choose a place to go. To the home of a friend or relative who will offer unconditional support, or a motel, or hotel, or a shelter -- most importantly somewhere you will feel safe.
Pack a survival kit. Money for cab fare, a change of clothes, extra house and car keys, birth certificates, passports, medications, and copies of prescriptions, insurance information, checkbook credit cards, legal documents such as separation agreements and protection orders, address books, and valuable jewelry, and papers that show jointly owned assets. Conceal it in the home or leave it with a trusted neighbor, friend, or relative. Important papers can also be left in a bank deposit box.
Try to start an individual savings account. Have statements sent to a trusted relative or friend.
Avoid arguments with the abuser in areas with potential weapons. Kitchen, garage, or in small spaces without an outside door.
Know the telephone number of the domestic violence hotline. Contact it for information on resources and legal rights.
Review the safety plan monthly.

Adapted from: "Preventing Domestic Violence" by Laura Crites in Prevention Communique, March 1992, Crime Prevention Division, Department of the Attorney General, Hawaii.

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