How To Keep Yourself Safe

If you’re being abused…Get Help!

• You have the right to be treated with respect, be heard, say “NO”, come and go as you please, have privacy and space of your own, and maintain a separate identity.
  
• Millions of women are dealing with violence. Although it is usually hidden, this kind of abuse is very common and affects people from all walks of life.
  
• No one has the right to physically or mentally harm you. That kind of behavior is against the law!

How to Protect Yourself at Home

• Learn where to get help; memorize emergency phone numbers.
  
• Plan an escape route out of your home; teach it to your children.
  
• Pack a bag with important things you’d need if you had to leave quickly. Put it in a safe place or give it to a friend or relative you trust.
  
• Include cash, car keys, and other important things, such as: court papers, passport or birth certificates, medical records and medicines, immigration papers.

In an Emergency

• Stay away from the kitchen. The abuser can find weapons –
  like knives – there.
  
• Stay away from the bathroom, closets, or other small spaces where the abuser can trap you.
  
• Go to a room with a door or window to escape.
  
• Go to a room with a phone to call for help; lock the abuser outside if you can.
  
• Call 911 (or local emergency number) right away for help; get the dispatcher’s name.
  
• Seek medical help if you are hurt.
  
• Take pictures of bruises or injuries.
  
• Call a domestic violence program or shelter in your area.

*24 hour hotline

| Home | Our Mission | Get Help | Calendar & Activities | Donations | Domestic Violence-The Facts | Contact Us |
 | Programs & Support Groups | Cell Phone Recycling Program | Newsletter | Directions | LINKS | Teen Dating Violence |