DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SAFETY PLANNING

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY

These suggestions do not guarantee your safety, but could help improve your safety situation.  You may not have any control over your partner’s violence, but you do have choices about how you will respond to your partner's violence and about how to get yourself and your children to safety.

BE PREPARED

• Have a safety plan BEFORE any violence occurs.
• Rehearse your plan and teach your children what they should do if violence occurs.
• Be aware of any changes in your partner’s behavior that indicate a build up to a violent incident.
• Be ready to use your safety plan when violence does occur.
• Protect yourself and your children by never telling your safety plan to the person who is abusing you.
• Instruct your children not to tell the abuser about the plan.
• Prepare yourself and your children as far in advance as possible.
• Be aware that that most significant injuries and homicides occur when people leave or attempt to leave abusive or violent relationships.
• If you decide to leave, remember that leaving is a process, and there are things you can do prior to leaving to increase your safety of your children.
• Contact Victim Services in the Solicitor’s office on laws and other resources available to you prior to a crisis.
• 75% of Domestic violence homicides occur when people leave or attempt to leave abusive or violent relationships.  You can dramatically increase your safety by deciding before a violent incident what you should do to protect yourself.

SAFETY FROM THE ABUSER

• Before any violence occurs, plan what you can do.
• Pick the places in your home that are lowest in risk to your safety.
• If violence occurs, avoid kitchens and bathrooms as many objects in these rooms can be used as weapons.
• Avoid rooms with no windows or doors.
• Make yourself a small target; dive into a corner, curl up into a ball with your face protected and your arms around each side to your head.
• Do not run to where your children are as they may also get injured.
• Let trusted friends and neighbors know of your situation and develop a plan with them when you need help.  Tell neighbors to call the police if they hear any suspicious noises coming from your home.
• If possible, have a phone accessible at all times.  Don’t be afraid to call police.
• Teach your children how to help. Instruct them not to get involved in the violence.  Come up with a code word.  Practice with them and to know how to call police away from where violence is occurring.
• Keep your car fueled and have an extra set of car keys.
• Use your judgment and intuition. Protect yourself until you are out of danger.
• If you are injured, get medical attention and tell your healthcare provider the true cause of your injury for accurate documentation, take pictures of the injuries and keep a diary or log of every incident and keep them in a safe place.

PREPARING TO LEAVE SAFELY

• Decide how you will get out of the house. What doors, windows, or stairways can you use? Practice getting out of the house quickly and safely.
• Decide now where you will go if you need to leave your home. Pick more than one place you know will be safe so that if you cannot get to your first choice, you have an alternative.
• If you are unsure of where to go call the Partnership Against Domestic Violence, 770.963.9799 for a referral.
• Find out about local laws and what resources are available to you before you need them in a crisis.
• Acquire job skills in necessary.
• Begin to stash cash in a safe place.
• Keep change for phone calls as well as money for cab or bus fare near or with you at all times.   A CREDIT CARD WILL SHOW YOUR ABUSER WHO YOU CALLED AFTER YOU LEFT.
• If possible memorize some important phone numbers such as Help Line GA, 1.800.338.6745.
• If you leave, you will need copies of your important papers. You may want to make copies and leave them with a trusted friend or relative. Along with these papers you may want to leave a change of clothes for yourself and your children. (see next page)

HELPFUL NUMBERS

EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Being battered or verbally abused is both exhausting and emotionally draining. You may want to join a support group made up of people who are experiencing situations similar to yours. For information on such groups call Help Line GA at 1.800.338.6745. You may also want to seek counseling for your children. Children who have witnessed domestic violence are far more likely to experience abusive relationships as adults and may experience a wide range of behavioral problems.

TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE ORDERS

If you are married to, have lived with, or have children with the batterer you are eligible for a Temporary Protective Order. For help in obtaining such an order call your County Solicitor's Office

Once you get a protective order you will need to keep it with you at all times. You will want to make several copies of the order and keep one in your purse, one in your car, one in your home, and one with a friend or relative.

Call the police immediately if your partner violates the order. Violating a protective order is a crime, and the police can arrest the violator.

Inform family, friends, neighbors, the rental office, coworkers and anyone else you can think of that you have a Protective Order. This way they can call the police if they see your partner violating the order.

REMEMBER EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE SAFE INCLUDING YOU!

If you are married to, have lived with, or have children with the batterer you are eligible for a Temporary Protective Order. For help in obtaining such an order call the Gwinnett County Solicitor's Office at 770.822.8300.

Once you get a protective order you will need to keep it with you at all times. You will want to make several copies of the order and keep one in your purse, one in your car, one in your home, and one with a friend or relative.

Call the police immediately if your partner violates the order. Violating a protective order is a crime, and the police can arrest the violator.

Inform family, friends, neighbors, the rental office, coworkers and anyone else you can think of that you have a Protective Order. This way they can call the police if they see your partner violating the order.

REMEMBER EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE SAFE INCLUDING YOU!

What you need to take when you leave

Be sure you write down important phone numbers where they are easily accessible.

Did You Know?

Domestic Violence is the leading cause of injury to women aged 15 to 44.

In an effort to enhance the safety of victim's of domestic abuse and their children, Gwinnett County Solicitor, Gerald N. Blaney, Jr., is proud to announce a new initiative aimed at ending domestic abuse in Gwinnett County:

Turning Point?

An Educational / Support Group for people experiencing domestic abuse Group participation will be held in confidence and will be facilitated by a qualified counselor experienced in issues related to domestic abuse. Meetings will be held weekly on an on-going basis and will remain open at all times to new participants. This is a public service of the Gwinnett County Solicitor's Office (in cooperation with Gwinnett Promina Hospital System) and is offered free of charge to the citizens of Gwinnett County.

Topics of discussion will include:

• Domestic Violence: Physical, Verbal / Emotional, & Sexual Abuse
• Power and Control Wheel & Cycle of Violence
• Family Roles: Why is it so hard to leave?
• Safety Planning
• Dysfunctional Childhood: Legacy of Abuse
• Grief, Fear, Guilt & Anger
• Assertiveness Skills
• Setting Realistic Goals
• Healthy Relationships