After I leave
I can change the locks on my doors and windows.
I can replace wooden doors with metal ones.
I can install security systems, including additional locks, window bars, poles to wedge against doors, etc.
I can buy rope ladders to be used for escape from second-floor windows.
I can install smoke detectors and put fire extinguishers on each floor in my home.
I will teach my children how to use the phone to make a collect call to me if they are concerned about their safety.
I can tell people who take care of my children which people have permission to pick them up and make sure they know how to recognize those people.
I will give the people who take care of my children copies of custody and protection orders, as well as emergency numbers.
At work and in public
I can inform my boss, the security supervisor and the employee assistance program, if available, about my situation. The number for the EAP office is .
I can ask to screen my calls at work.
When leaving work, I can .
If there’s trouble when traveling to and from work, I can .
I can change my patterns –
avoid stores, banks, doctor’s appointments, self-service laundries and , places where my partner might find me.
I can tell and that I am no longer with my partner and ask them to call the police if they believe my children and I are in danger.
With an order of protection
I will keep my protection order .
(Always keep it on or near your person.)
I will give copies of my protection order to the local police or sheriff and departments in towns where I visit with friends and family.
I will give copies to my employer, my religious advisor, my closest friend, my children’s school and day-care center and .
If my partner destroys my order or if I lose it, I can get another copy from the court that issued it.
If my partner violates the order, I can call the police and report a violation, contact my attorney, call my domestic violence program advocate, and /or advise the court of the violation.
I can call a domestic violence program if I have questions about how to enforce an order or if I have problems getting it enforced.