Safety planning is critical for people who have been battered or threatened by their partner. Whether or not a victim is currently planning to leave the abuser, each victim must have a safety plan in place to help ensure their immediate and long term safety. Here are some suggestions.
When a fight breaks out:
 | Move away from the kitchen, bathroom, or anyplace where there are dangerous sharpobjects. |
| Devise a code word to use with your children, family, friends and neighbors when you need the police called. |
| Plan the easiest escape. Decide on a door or window that you can exit quickly and safely. Have a packed bag ready and keep it at a relative or friend's home in order to leave quickly. |
| Identify one or more neighbors you can tell about the violence and ask that they call the police if they hear a disturbance from you home. |
| Decide and plan for where you will go if you have to leave home. This could include family, friends, neighbors, church members or the shelter. |
When preparing to leave:
| Put some money away. Even if you only save a little bit each week, you will need to have some money of your own. Open a savings account and/or a credit card in your own name to establish credit and to help increase your own independence. |
| Make copies of keys, important documents such as birth certificates, ID cards and Social Security Numbers for your children and yourself in a safe place outside your home, or with someone you can trust. |