A Safety Plan or Protection Plan is a tool to help you identify possible ways to protect yourself and your children from physical abuse.
It is a way for you to prepare yourself beforehand to increase your safety in an emergency situation. Whether you live with the abuser, have separated from the abuser, have a restraining order (TRO), or have no order, the measures you take to increase your safety may be the most important thing you can do.
Although each person’s safety plan will be unique to that person, there are some common and useful strategies that may assist you. These strategies are listed in the articles:
- Safety Plan Prior to a Violent Incident
- Safety Plan During a Violent Incident
- Safety With a Restraining Order
We encourage you to take some time to develop your own plan using the strategies that are useful to you as well as ones you develop for yourself.
While valuable information and assistance is available to you, use your own best judgement and intuition for remaining safe.
Printable safety plan from the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence