Safety planning

Safety planning is important.  

It should be updated regularly to match your situation and needs. 

Safety planning can help if: 

• you are living with violence 

• you are thinking about leaving 

• you have already left 

• you are worried about your own use of violence and want to stop

Safety planning is about helping everyone stay as safe as possible. 

What is safety planning? 

Safety planning means making a simple plan to help keep you and the people you care about safe. 

A safety plan can include: 

• things you do now to get ready 

• things you do if you feel unsafe 

• things you do if you are worried you might hurt someone 

Every safety plan is different. Your plan should fit your situation.

A safety plan may include: 

• noticing the warning signs that things are getting worse 

• thinking about what usually happens before violence starts 

• knowing who you can call for help 

• thinking about where you can go to be safe 

• having important documents ready to take with you if you need to leave (only if it is safe to do so – if you are at imminent risk, you should leave immediately) 

• planning how to make phone calls safely 

• keeping important phone numbers with you 

Other things you might include in a safety plan: 

• Thinking about what can help you stay calm and think clearly 

• remembering that the goal is safety 

• knowing that you are responsible for your own actions, not other people’s actions 

• if you are a victim-survivor, remembering that you are not responsible for the person using violence 

• if you are using violence, knowing that you cannot control the victim-survivor and this cannot be part of your plan 

• making sure children have their own safety plan and know they should keep themselves safe first. Children should never be responsible for any actions in a safety plan other than protecting themselves and keeping themselves safe 

• Talking to safe people or support services about your plan can help. 

If you are worried about using violence, you may want things to change but feel stuck. A safety plan can help you act earlier and get support. Talking honestly about your worries can help you get support and learn safer ways to respond.