SAFETY DURING AN EXPLOSIVE INCIDENT
- If you can see an argument coming (often you can't), go to an area that has access to an exit. Avoid bathrooms (hard surfaces), kitchens (knives), or any place near weapons.
- Try to stay in a room with a phone so you can call 911, a friend, or a neighbor.
- If weapons are in the home, inform law enforcement.
- Practice how to get out of your home safely. Visualize your escape route. Identify the best doors, windows, elevators, or stairwells.
- Have a packed bag ready with important documents (see “items to take with you when you leave” section below) and items.
- Ask a neighbor to call the police if they hear a disturbance coming from your home.
- Devise a code word to use with your children, grandchildren, and others to communicate that you need the police.
- Decide and plan where you will go if you have to leave home (even if you don't think you will need to).
- Trust your instinct and judgement. If a situation is very dangerous, consider any action that might calm things down. This can give you time to assess what to do next.
SAFETY WHEN PREPARING TO LEAVE
- Open a savings account in your own name to start to establish or increase your independence. Consider direct deposit of your paycheck or benefit check.
- Leave money, an extra set of keys, copies of important documents, and extra clothes with someone you trust so you can leave quickly.
- Collect any medications and prescriptions, plus glasses, hearing aids, or other assistive devices you may need.
- Determine who would be able to let you stay with them or lend you money.
- Keep the telephone number of a domestic violence program close at hand (1-801-444-9161). Memorize it.
- Keep a mobile phone, telephone calling card, or some change with you at all times for emergency calls.
- Review your safety plan as often as possible.
SAFETY IN PUBLIC
(at school, on the job, or during social or recreational events)
- Decide who you will inform of your situtation. This could include your school, office, building security, or church. Provide a photo of your abuser if possible.
- Arrange to have someone screen your telephone calls.
- Have someone escort you to your car, or to a bus or taxi.
- Park your car in a lighted, visible area.
- Use a variety of routes to go home. Think about what you would do if something happened while traveling home.
SAFETY IN YOUR OWN HOME
(if abuser does not live with you)
- Change the locks on your doors as soon as possible. Buy additional locks and safety devices to secure your windows. Consider installing or increasing your outdoor lighting.
- If you have young children, grandchildren, or other dependents living with you, discuss a safety plan for when you are not with them. Inform their school, day care, etc. about who has permission to pick them up.
- Inform neighbors and/or your landlord that your abuser no longer lives with you and that they should call the police if they see your abuser near your home.
SAFETY WITH AN ORDER OF PROTECTION
- Keep your protective order with you at all times. Memorize your case number—it is easier for law enforcement to locate rather than last names. If your protective order is lost or destroyed, individuals in Davis County can call the County Attorney's Office for help at (801)451-4300.
- Call the police if your abuser violates the conditions of the order.
- Think of alternative ways to keep safe in case the police are not able to respond right away.
- Inform family, friends, teachers, and neighbors that you have a protective order in effect. Provide a certified copy to caretakers of children who are also protected.
SAFETY AND YOUR EMOTIONAL HEALTH
- If you are thinking of returning to a potentially abusive situation, discuss an alternative plan with someone you trust.
- If you have to communicate with your abuser, arrange to do so in the way that makes you feel safest, whether by phone, mail, in the company of another person, etc.
- Decide who you can talk to freely and openly, and who can give you the support you need. Consider calling a domestic violence support line (1-801-444-9161). All calls are confidential and you don't have to give your name.
- Plan to attend a support group to gain support from others and learn more about yourself and your relationship with your abuser.
ITEMS TO TAKE IF YOU LEAVE
- Driver's license or other form of I.D.
- Your and your family members' birth certificates.
- Money, bank books, checkbooks, credit cards, ATM cards, and mortgage payment information.
- Important documents, such as Social Security cards, work permits, green cards, and passports.
- Divorce and custody papers.
- Insurance papers and medical records.
- Copies of your lease, rental agreement, and/or house deed.
- Keys to house/car/office.
- Medications, glasses, hearing aids, and other assistive devices needed for you and your children or other dependents.
- Personal items such as address book, pictures, jewelry, and items of sentimental value for you and your children or other dependents.