Abuse and Violence
Intimate Partner Violence: Tips for Staying Safer
Regardless of whether you are living in an abusive relationship or have left to start over, you should explore your options for creating personalized safety plans.
- Plan possible escape routes;
- Keep some cash on hand along with extra clothes, house/car keys;
- Hide a bag packed with important papers, ID, medications, children toys;
- If things escalate call 911 and try to leave for a safe place;
- Stay calm and try to calm your partner;
- Call the nearest transition house or domestic violence outreach service, and if you have concerns about your pets – ask about Safe for Pets Too.
- Change the locks on doors;
- Install a peep hole in the door;
- Install smoke detectors and a motion sensitive lighting system outside;
- Change your routines. Take different routes and shop in different stores;
- Tell coaches, instructor, teachers, religious leaders, babysitters and others who care for your children about who has permission to pick up them and who does not. Tell them about any protective orders;
- Tell your employer you are separated and discuss safety in the workplace.
- Talk to your children about making a safety plan and practice with them;
- Tell them not to feel responsible, or get involved in a fight.
- If your partner is abusive and controlling, he may monitor your activities on the Internet. Seeing you’ve searched for services for abused women may upset him. Our online factsheet has tips on how to increase your safety online.
- Even if you decide not to leave, consider making a safety plan with personal strategies to help mitigate your risk of harm. This plan is also available as a free App called EVO – Connecting New Brunswick women to helpful services;
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Find out about transition houses, helping services, Emergency Intervention Orders, and other legal remedies. Check out the Directory of Services for Victims of Abuse;
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For information on safety planning for Aboriginal women and children, see the Healing Journey website at www.thehealingjourney.ca.
Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick (PLEIS-NB) is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to provide New Brunswickers with information about the law. PLEIS-NB receives funding and in-kind support from the federal Department of Justice, the New Brunswick Law Foundation and the New Brunswick Department of Justice and Public Safety. We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of Public Prosecutions Branch, Office of the Attorney General of New Brunswick and the Victim/Witness Service of the Fredericton Municipal Police Force.
Published by:
Public Legal Education and
Information Service of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
CANADA
Tel: (506) 453-5369
Fax: (506) 462-5193
Email: pleisnb@web.ca
Website: www.legal-info-legale.nb.ca
July 2018
ISBN: 978-1-55396-947-1
Disclaimer: Please note that our website contains general information about the law. This is not a complete statement of the law on particular topics. We try to update our publications often, but laws change frequently so it is important for you to check to make sure the information is up to date. The information in our publications is not a substitute for legal advice. To receive legal advice about your specific situation, you need to speak to a lawyer.