with Dr. Nancy Downing.

In this video, Dr. Nancy Downing, PHD, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, FAAN, discusses domestic violence safety planning.

Transcript

This is Dr. Downing, a forensic faculty member here at Texas A&M School of Nursing. Today’s topic will be about domestic violence. 

What is safety planning?

A safety plan is a plan for your safety at any stage of a relationship that may involve abuse. So that may be planning to be safe if you live alone, or planning to be safe when an abusive episode is happening, or it may be planning to be safe when wanting to leave the relationship. Unfortunately, statistics show that some of the most dangerous times in abusive relationships are when a person voices an attempt or an intent to leave the relationship, or when someone is in the active stage of leaving the relationship, or very shortly after they have left. 

What does a safety plan include?

A safety plan includes knowing where you can go to be safe, having a trusted friend or family member, and a safe place to live. It can include making a safe bag. A safe bag is a bag full of the important things that you need and is in a place that you can make a quick getaway, either under your bed or in your car. And that includes your ID, your credit cards, bank cards, birth certificates, Social Security cards, keys, anything that’s important so that you can leave quickly and safely. A safety plan involves having resources and numbers where you can go, and it also includes making a safety plan in case violence escalates, including calling 911 if your safety is threatened in any way.