Keeping safe

Safety planning is crucial to protect yourself from future violence and abuse. Below are some safety planning tips that can help you to stay safe, but seeking professional support and guidance is also very important.

Within the resources section located on the right of this page, you will find more detailed safety guidance for creating a safety plan including our Survivor safety guide.

I am still living with the abuser:

• Think about the best way for you to leave the house in an emergency (think about your house layout and the quickest/ safest route out)
• Keep keys nearby so they are easy to access
• If you must leave in an emergency, consider going to a place that is safe and public, which is unknown to your abuser, where could you go?
• Have a bag ready in case you need to leave quickly, consider having the following items in the bag: mobile phone and charger/ keys/ spare money/ copy of any orders/ birth certificate/driver’s licence/change of clothes/ medication.
• If you have children, remember to put in the bag anything they need, such as: clothes/ formula/ birth certificate/ nappies
• Keep a log of any forms of abuse, harassment or threats.
• A code word you could use to alert my family/friends/professionals that you are in danger.
• Contact 999 if you feel in any immediate danger. 
• Contact 101 to log any incidents of abuse, harassment or threatening behaviour.
• Identify an adult you can trust and to whom you can talk to.
• Report incidents of abuse to someone you trust.

I have left the abuser:

• Always carry mobile phone; ensure it is fully charged with credit/minutes available.
• Identify an adult you can trust and to whom you can talk to.
• Report incidents of abuse to someone you trust.
• Keep a log of any forms of abuse, harassment or threats.
• Avoid walking in any remote places alone, e.g., alleyways.
• Consider blocking the abuser from social media and from your phone, however, if you prefer to gather evidence of messages received to log with the police, think about how you feel about this and the impact it may have on you if you don’t block them.
• Ensure your location services are turned off on all social media apps so your whereabouts cannot be tracked by the abuser.
• Consider changing elements of your daily routine that the abuser may be aware of.
• Where possible, always make sure you do not go out alone/ try not to walk from school or work alone.
• Contact 999 if you feel in any immediate danger. 
• Contact 101 to log any incidents of abuse, harassment or threatening behaviour.
• Inform a family member/friend where you are going and what time you plan to be back.
• Keep a passcode on your mobile phone.
• Never give your personal passwords out to anyone other than your parents/carers

Staying safe at school:

• Walk to and from school with someone
• Spend break and lunch times in a safe place at school with friends.  Think where is your safe place in school?
• Ask a friend to walk with you in between classes, who can you ask?
• Speak with the school to help you to put a safety plan in place. The plan might include; access to your safe place in school when you need it: Leaving class a bit earlier to walk through the corridors so that you don’t encounter your abuser. A teacher walks you to the bus stop.
• Who can you talk to in school if you need to rearrange your timetable so that you can avoid your abuser?