The Importance of a Safety Plan
For women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), safety can feel out of reach. Having a safety plan is essential for women staying in relationships in which they are being abused, as they are leaving and after they have left. Creating a safety plan is a proactive step toward ensuring both physical and emotional security, as well as ensuring you have strategies in place to safeguard yourself and loved ones.
What is a Safety Plan?
A safety plan is an individualized plan that reduces the risks of further abuse for you and your children. Safety plans involve strategies tailored to your unique circumstances and can be used as a practical tool to help women stay safe.
It should also include strategies for basic needs like income, housing, health care, food, childcare and education for the children.
What Should a Safety Plan Include?
- How to get away if there is an emergency.
- How to get help if leaving is not an option at that time or you choose not to leave.
- Where to go if you leave.
- How to be safe at a new place.
- How to keep in touch with people, including the police, who will help you.
- How to keep your children safe.
- How to protect your personal property (e.g., clothes, jewelry, family keepsakes, important documents, phone, etc.).
- How to stay safe in public and at work.
- Anything else that you and your children need to feel as safe as possible.
Taking the First Step
Creating a safety plan is a step toward reclaiming your power and ensuring your safety. For more tips and guidance on how to build your plan, visit Keep Safe – Family Court & Beyond
If you are a women seeking support with family law during or after leaving an abusive relationship, please reach out to us at 905.728.0978 ext. 235 or toll-free at 1.866.516.3116 ext. 235 or email us at Intake@LukesPlace.ca to book an appointment.
