Safety Planning In And Outside of Your Home
As an organization that provides direct services, survivors of domestic violence and training for advocates and other service providers, DVRP frequently discusses the importance of safety planning as it relates to domestic violence. Today, we would like to review these strategies, as well as talk about how to keep safe outside of your home, especially in the bustling time we know as the “holiday season” (and in looking toward the future, (and in looking toward the future, the Presidential Inauguration in January).
Domestic Violence Safety Planning Guidelines
One of the most important things you can do when developing your safety plan is to talk to an advocacy agency, like DVRP! Advocates can inform you of your rights and the options and resources available to you so that you can make informed decisions. They are here to listen, and to be supportive and understanding to your unique situation.
Here are some highlights from The National Center for Victims of Crime about safety planning for those experiencing abuse in their partnership:
-Identify safe areas of the house where there are no weapons and where there are always ways to escape. If arguments occur, try to move to those areas.
-Don’t run to where the children are as your partner may hurt them as well.
– If possible, have a phone accessible at all times and know the numbers to call for help.
-Know where the nearest pay phone is located.
-Teach your children how to get help. Instruct them not to get involved in the violence between you and your partner. Plan a code signal that they should get help or leave the house.
-Try not to wear scarves or long jewelry that could be used to strangle you.
-Store some belongings with a friend or relative such as clothing, medications, money, credit cards, and all important documents such as birth certificates, identification, passport, medical records, etc.
-Change your locks and phone number.
-Change your work hours and route taken to work and school.
-Obtain a protective order; call the police to enforce it.
For a more in depth training about domestic violence safety planning, particularly looking at the barriers and challenges for the Asian/Pacific Islander, immigrant, trafficked, and non-English speaking community, please contact Amara Jade, the Community Outreach Director for DVRP at 202.464.4477 x227.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.
Safety Planning in the Public Sphere
Safety planning for survivors of domestic violence is clearly very important to reducing risk. However, anyone can benefit from some safety planning in the public sphere, especially during high traffic times such as the holidays.
The District Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs recently held a community meeting where various members expressed concerns for the API community in terms of muggings and robberies, especially in the downtown China town area. DVRP then wanted to share this concern, as well some tips on how to keep safe.
For starters, do not carry a lot of cash on you. You may be familiar with the idea that Asians carry a lot of cash on us as our preferred mode of purchase. One website, advertised as being “Written by Asian’s, About Asians” confirms this stereotype. Whether true or not, the fact of the matter is that general perceptions can inform decisions, such as those by criminals about who might be a good target to rob.
What I am talking about is hate crimes based on race and/or ethnicity. The Metro Politian Police Department of Washington DC’s Asian Liaison Unit, a good resource for legal inquiries, provides some information and definitions about hate crimes. Further, the 2006 (2007 data will soon be available) FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program data reports the following concerning hate crimes:
An analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:
- 52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.
- 18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.
- 15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
- 13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
- 1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.
Racial bias
Among the single-bias hate crime incidents in 2006, there were 5,020 victims of racially motivated hate crime.
- 66.4 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-black bias.
- 21.0 percent were victims of an anti-white bias.
- 4.8 percent were victims of an anti-Asian/Pacific Islander bias.
- 1.5 percent were victims of an anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native bias.
- 6.4 percent were victims of a bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group).
For more details and statistics, see the URC website.
DC MPD offers some safety tips on their website for protecting yourself from various crimes. Additionally, here are some suggestions from Defend Yourself:
-Know what matters. Would you fight over your watch, your purse, your care? Chances of injury are high, and no property matters that much.
-Practice awareness. Notice people, their moods, their behavior. Keep track of your environment, where the nearest way out or safe place is. If you’re distracted, or just inside your own head, you’re vulnerable to surprise. Awareness is the first line of defense.
For practice on all these things, and lots more skills, take a self-defense class. Defend Yourself is one of DVRP’s community partners and will have a class starting in January.
So, whether in an abusive relationship, or just out and about, safety planning is an important piece to reducing your risk.
Stay safe, and be well.
DVRP
