A Guide to
Domestic Violence
Risk Assessment, Risk Reduction
and Safety Plan
For police
officers, whose work has as much to do with crime prevention and
community service as it does
with enforcing the laws; and
for prosecutors,
court staff, probation, parole and community corrections staff,
whose work has as much to
do with public safety as it does with the administration of justice;
and
for domestic
violence service providers and victim's advocates, social workers
and human service
professionals and health care providers and educators and clergy and
everyone else to whom domestic
battered victims turn
for help;
we offer this
Guide as a reference and training outline.
I. Introduction
This is not
one-size-fits-all work. Domestic violence interventions must be
case-specific and based
on an ongoing analysis of the totality
of risks the victims faces.
Being in a
relationship with an abusive partner - and surviving - requires
considerable skill and
resourcefulness. Although she/he may not be fully aware of it, every
victim of domestic violence has
already been doing risk assignment and safety planning: attempting
to manage rising tensions, to
head off crises, to protect themselves and their children, to keep
an already bad situation from getting
worse.
Whatever the
potential benefits, everything that we suggest that battered victims
do - or that we offer to do
on their behalf, or that we do without their consent - also
carries with it some kind of potential risk or cost.
Responsible intervention isn't possible unless we seriously consider
and account for those risks and costs,
as well as the risks she's/he's contending with before she/he
encounters us.
The starting
point for any intervention strategy is the collaborative
identification of:
Get used to the
idea that the victim's sense of the most pressing matter may not be
the same as yours.
Regardless of which of you is "right", you will have to content with
the victim's sense of priority. And if you
show respect for the victim's priorities, she's/he's more likely to
be able to trust and work with you.
-
The victim's
existing resources and capabilities?
-
Is he/she
socially isolated or does she have a good support system?
-
Is he/she
relatively privileged (by race, case, education, or professional
skill) or not?
-
Is he/she a
drug addicted?
-
Alcohol
abusing? Seriously emotional?
-
What is
his/her level of literacy?
-
How well can
he/she communicate?
-
the results
(positive and negative) of past efforts at problem-solving and
seeking help
-
Find out what
she's/he's done that made things more safe or tolerable; see who
has been helpful
in the past, who has an inhibiting effect on the victim's
partner, whom she/he trusts.
-
the
actually available and accessible community supports and
resources.
-
Consider how
the realities of fees-for-service, "child-friendliness",
proximity to public transportation,
hours of operation, and language capability make a difference.
II.
Victim-Focused Intervention
It can't be
emphasized enough that the problem of domestic
violence can't be resolved by effecting
changes in the victim's behavior. No battered victim has control
over his/her partner's behavior, and it is
foolish to expect victims to "stop the violence." The problem
is the offender's conduct an sense of
entitlement to coercive, controlling and terrorist behaviors.
That said, it
remains true that victim-focused measures are an essential element
of a domestic violence
intervention strategy. Battered victims can and do find ways to
reduce the level of risk and danger in their
lives, and to reclaim freedom of choice and action.
Risk assessment
and safety planning give us a method of identifying problems,
options and resources, for
evaluating those options, and for committing to a plan of action.
Some people find it useful to work with a
friend or advocate and write out a plan. (A sample plan is
attached.) Some find, however, that they need
to keep the plan and other papers with a trusted friend, an attorney
or a domestic violence advocate. The
key thing, whether the plan is written or not, is to have one.
The goals
of victim-focused interventions are:
1. To reduce
offender access to victims and other vulnerable parties;
Access
needs to be understood as a physical, social, emotional,
informational and financial.
Access can be
gained directly, through agents or intermediaries, and through the
actions of social
institutions like the courts, the schools, or the child support
system.
2. To
re-establish or expand a victim's zone of free choice and activity,
and strengthen her ability to resist
and repel her abusive partner and,
3. To increase
the level of community "guardianship" surrounding the victim and
other vulnerable people
(children, witnesses.)
III. Risk
Assessment
A Cautionary
Note:
Traditionally,
this has involved the analysis of specific threats, or of the
offender's capacity for serious or
lethal acts of violence.
There are a
number of currently available risk/danger assessment instruments,
including some
sophisticated computerized models.
What these
tools do is help us think through the dynamic
elements of a particular case, and compare
it to known cases that resulted in serious injury or death.
In a sense, they
serve an important "coaching" function, in that they remind us to do
a thorough
investigation and analysis of the significant elements of a case.
What they
cannot do is predict the behavior of any given individual.
The single best predictor of future
violent behavior continues to be past violence, and we cannot, in
any absolute sense, predict lethality or
serious injury. The best we can do is evaluate comparative
risk, and attempt to safeguard against
identified dangers.
The other
thing they cannot do is help us really enter into the world of
battered victim's problem
solving. Avoiding serious injury or death is certainly the most
dramatic aspect of a domestic violence
intervention strategy. But once we understand domestic violence as a
problem of coercive control rather
than simply as problem of assault behavior, we are forced to broaden
our concept of risk assessment. Like
battered victims, we then need to conduct a thorough analysis of the
complex package of physical, legal,
economic, familial, social, and emotional risks faced by the victim,
and by those she/he feel bound to
protect.
This set of
concerns extends well beyond traditional definitions of "safety".
While she/he
wants the abuse to end, a battered victim may not want to see their
partner harmed, publicly
shamed, or damaged financially.
The victim may
want to protect her/his privacy and sense of competence.
The victim may be
weighing the effects that taking the children out of their regular
school in order to seek
shelter will have.
The victim may
fear that their partner will try to get custody of the children if
she/he seeks help about
the domestic violence.
The victim may be
concerned that multiple court appearances will lead to the loss of
their job.
If the victim
leaves an abusive partner, she/he may fear being "cast out" by their
family or religious
community.
Understanding
"safety" as something more than protection from assault, we need to
get beyond "danger",
look at a broader range of risks, evaluate their seriousness, and
weight the real consequences of any
possible courses of action we might propose to the victim.
In identifying
pressing concerns and evaluating risks, it is critical to get a
sense of how the relationship
has developed and at the range of coercive tactics employed by the
abuser. The question isn't simply
"what kind of danger is she/he in?" We have to ask at the same time,
"How constricted has the victim's
life become?" and "What might be done to reduce both the danger and
the narrowing of free choice and
action?"
In the sections
that follow, we'll consider some of the most critical areas that
investigations and interviews
should explore.
When evaluating
available options for intervention - yours and the victim's - the
key questions are:
"If she/he
does X (or does not do X) which risks go
up, which go down, and which new risks arise?" and,
"What are the
implications - for the victim, other witnesses, the offender, the
community, my organization,
and myself if I do (or don't do) X?
IV. Elements of
Risk Assessment
1. Assessing
Threats
For too long,
there has been a very high "discount rate" when it comes to
evaluating threats
made by one partner against another. The tendency is to dismiss
these as things being said "in the
heat of the moment", or to see threats as an abuser's way of
"letting off steam." Inevitably, in the aftermath
of a death or serious assault, the "wisdom of hindsight" kicks in,
and people tell reporters: "we saw it
coming."
In evaluating
threats, consider the following:
* Does
the victim ..believe the threat?
This is
important information, even in those instances where you come to
the independent
conclusion that a victim is minimizing the danger she/he faces.
Consider also
that words or acts that are not particularly threatening in one
cultural frame of
reference could well be terrorizing in another.
* Was it
made in the presence of other people? In writing? In a recorded
telephone conversation?
Willingness
to "leave evidence" or "not caring who knows" may indicate a
more serious intention
to follow through.
* Is it
detailed and specific?
Evaluate
threats in domestics as you would evaluate potential suicides:
the more thought that's
gone into the plan (evidenced by the amount and specificity of
the detail); the more likely it is to
be acted on: "I'm going to kill you" is cause for concern;
"Tonight, I'm going to feed you feet first
through that wood chipper" is cause for greater alarm.
* Is the
threatened act consistent with his past behavior?
* Does the
abuser have the means to carry it out?
Again,
consider the parallel to assessing potential suicides: There's
having the thought, then
there's having a plan, then there's being able to follow
through. Where the "means" are at hand,
there is more risk.
* Have
there been "rehearsals" of the act that is being threatened?
These can be
verbal "picture painting" ("let me tell you what I'm going to do
. . .") or partial
reenactments (showing someone the weapon you intend to use or
the place where you're going to
kill or bury them).
* Does the
threat extend to others (children, family members, police, new
lover)?
Fear of harm
to others may restrict a victim's willingness to resist and/or
to follow through with
police, children's services and the courts.
Custodial
interference and parental kidnapping are routine in domestic
violence cases. In addition,
a substantial percentage (in one study, more than a third) of
domestic homicides are multiple-victim
killings, murder-suicides, or murder-suicide attempts.
* Does the
threat involve murder, suicide or both?
2. General
Considerations
Here, we need to
consider not just "yes or no" but to what degree these factors are
present.
A.
History of Violence/Use of Force
* Was the suspect
abusive to former partners or family members?
* Has the
physical violence increased in frequency or intensity over the past
year?
* Has the
suspect recently become violent toward the children?
* Violence tends
to escalate against a victim at the same time that it begins to be
directed to the children.
Children are
likely to be injured when attempting to intervene in domestic
incidents. Young boys
convicted of homicide are more likely to have killed a suspect
abusing their parent than to have
killed anyone else.
* Has the
violence involved choking or attempted strangulation?
These acts
seriously escalate the potential for serious injury or death,
but are often described by
offenders as attempts to "restrain" an "out of control" victim.
Whenever
there is an indication that choking or "restraint" is a tactic
of abuse, it's critical to
do a thorough assessment.
* Did the
suspect use an object, such as a belt or other article of clothing,
a telephone cord, an electric
cord, a leach or a plastic bag?
* Did the victim
initially "see stars", black out momentarily, or lose consciousness
for a protracted period,
or lose bladder or bowel control?
Or
subsequently, have any degree of neck swelling? Have bruises,
burns or red marks or spots on
the neck? Have reddening of the "whites" of the eyes? Vomit or
cough up blood? Experience
difficulty breathing or swallowing? Has speech become "raspy" or
lost voice? Experience
headaches and/or neck pain?
* Has the
violence involved head-banging or a head injury?
* Has the
batterer been violent while she was pregnant?
* Does the
batterer have a history of violence toward people who aren't
intimates or family members?
* Does the
batterer have a history of sexual assault behavior?
* Has the
batterer ever abused pets or other animals? During this
relationship, or as a child?
* Has the
batterer destroyed property particularly their partner's personal
property?
Intentional
and terrorist destruction of property is often an "it could as
well be you, and next time
might be" message.
* Does the
batterer have a special interest in/fascination with movies,
television shows, video games or
books that focus
on themes of violence, power and revenge; "true crime" stories of
homicide or stalking?
B. Weapons
Are there weapons
in the household? Does the batterer keep weapons in more than one
place? Where
are they kept? Does the batterer have access to weapons owned by
others? Is the batterer trained in
their use?
Does the batterer
have illegal or exotic weapons?
Is having and
being willing to use weapons part of their self-image?
This is
particularly crucial in relationships that involve people in law
enforcement, corrections,
the military, and the criminal justice system.
Has the
batterer's past violence involved the display, use or threatened use
of firearms or other weapons?
Does the victim
possess weapons? What kind? Is the victim trained in their use?
C. Centrality
In one form, this
emerges when one partner feels anxious and unsafe without the
compliant presence
of the other.
In another, more
extreme and dangerous form, one partner feels/believes they are
"incomplete" without
the other. Psychologists and other mental health professionals will
use terms like "enmeshment" to
describe this.
In assessing for
centrality, we need to look at both the material and the emotional
"overlaps" between
people's lives.
Do the parties
live together or share possessions? Do they have children in common?
Are there legal
ties between them?
Is the victim
financially dependent on the abuser?
Is the abuser
possessive? Does he/she express beliefs of "ownership" or sexual
entitlement to their
partner? Is the abuser violently or constantly jealous of the
victim? Does the abuser make unfounded
accusations of infidelity?
How much does the
abuser's sense of self depend on the relationship?
For instance, has
the abuser ever said, "I'd be lost without you" or (being ordered
into counseling or
drug/alcohol treatment,) "I can't do this without your" or "If you
leave me, I have nothing to live for"?
Is the abuser
socially dependent on the relationship?
As the
relationship has progressed, has he/she become less connected to
friends and family?
D. Stalking
Does the offender
engage in "checking up" behaviors? Listen in on conversations, read
mail, require
an accounting for whereabouts and activities?
Does the offender
enlist others in monitoring the victim's behavior?
Not only
the offender's friends, family, co-workers and cell
mates, but also the victim's
friends, family, and co-workers.
Has the offender
contacted - or threatened - the victim's friends, relatives or
co-workers?
Has the offender
followed, "staked out" or otherwise stalked victim?
Has the offender
made unwanted attempts to communicate by mail or telephone, or
through third parties?
These
communications don't have to be threats. They can be "oh baby, I was
so wrong I don't know
what came over me; can you ever forgive me; let's work it out
together" messages, flowers, gifts, etc.
E. Control
Does the abuser
control most of the financial resources?
Does the abuser
control or attempt to control most or all of the victim's daily
activities?
Does the abuser
give her lists of things the victim must and
cannot do? Does the abuser ask
the victim to repeat conversations she's/he's had with others? Is
the victim required to account
for her/his movements? Does the abuser check the odometer? Does the
victim have to account
for every penny she/he spends?
Has the abuser
attempted to isolate the victim, by moving or by driving people
away?
Does the abuser
believe he/she is entitled to control in the
relationship?
Does the abuser
equate compliance with loyalty?
Is the abuser
able to accept disagreement or behavior that is difficult from what
he/she would like to
see, or does he/she interpret those things as a form of personal
attack?
F. Other
Concerns
Does the abuser
drink? Use drugs? How often?
Has there been a
recent escalation in the abuser's pattern of drinking or drug use?
Does the abuser's
childhood history include domestic violence? Physical child abuse?
Sexual abuse?
Is this near an
"anniversary date" of a traumatic incident from the abuser's past?
Have holidays
always been flashpoints?
Does the abuser
basically see themselves as somebody "things happen to", as being
put-upon,
or as the victim of other people's actions?
How does the
abuser describe "things that went wrong" (failed relationships, lost
jobs) in the past?
How able is the
abuser to understand other people's motives and feelings?
Also: how much
does the abuser tend to project his/her own feelings, fears, or
motives onto others?
Is the abuser
able to accept responsibility for his/her actions?
How does the
abuser respond to change, particularly when it wasn't his/her idea?
Did the
relationship begin in a "whirlwind", with quick sexual involvement,
living together soon
after meeting, marriage within six months of meeting?
V. After
assessing risks and the potential level of danger, the next steps
are
1.
Clarification of roles and responsibilities
Where, if at all,
does a "special relationship" and affirmative duty to protect exist?
How was it
created and what are its terms?
Is there an order
of protection? Are there court-ordered conditions of probation or
parole? Has the
abuser said things that create a "duty to warn"?
To what extent
does confidentiality apply to your communications? What information
are you
legally required to disclose, and to whom?
Tell victims what
limits there are to protective actions that "the system" may
undertake on their behalf.
This way, you place the victim in a position to decide what's in
their best interests and not in their
best interests to tell you.
People don't
intuitively know how public systems "work", and victims need to be
educated about what
any given institution or responder can or cannot do for them.
Explain - in some
detail - who is what part of the system
needs what kind of information, and
who can reasonably be expected to undertake what kind
of actions on her behalf.
Everyone needs to
recognize that it's the victim who is ultimately going
to carry the "every-moment"
burden of attending to their safety and that of their children.
2. Education
about the problem of domestic violence
Nobody wants to
be a battered victim. Don't forget for a moment the stigma attached
to this particular
label, and don't assume that victims identify their
problem as domestic violence.
The victim may
believe it's the abuser's insecurity or impulsiveness, drinking or
drug use, stress at
work, or the behavior of the children, or something the victim's
doing (or not doing) that's the problem.
Although you
can't predict what will happen in any given relationship, you can
share what you know
about the dynamics of domestic violence, particularly as it relates
to "de-escalation phase" behaviors,
separation violence, stalking, and dangerousness.
You can also show
an understanding that, in all likelihood, this will be a "long haul"
process, and that
you are ready for that.
Without in
any way suggesting that the victim is responsible for or can
control their partner's behavior,
you can assist the victim in coming to terms with the need to
anticipate certain predictable behaviors on
the part of the batterer - and then help the victim to develop
enough of a tolerance for them that they're
able to function adequately and do not, acting from fear or
frustration, become drawn further into harm's
way or inadvertently aggravate the situation.
VI. Now, you can
move to situation-specific safety planning
A. First Steps
1.
Think about how you evaluate advice, and under what conditions
you're most likely to take
suggestions. You're likely to take advice:
When what's being
suggested is consistent with your experience, your values, and your
sense of
self and
When you "walk
around" the suggestion and come to the conclusion that, on balance,
it will do more
good than harm in your life (that is isn't going to make matters
worse.)
2. Now,
think about what happens if those conditions aren't met:
First, you're
just not likely to do it.
Second, you may
very well, if the person making the suggestion has some kind of
power over you,
act like you're willing to or going do it, and then just
not do it on once you're away from them.
Third, you may
come to the reasonable conclusion that this person has something
other than
your best interests at heart, regardless of what their
mouth is saying.
3. It
almost always makes sense to begin from the
assumption that people are going to try to
make their relationships "work" and to preserve their families, if
they can, and that, aside from what
they may want to do, powerful social forces are going to push
them that way.
This is
particularly true when there are children involved, as the existing
laws related to child custody,
visitation and support will keep people entangled even when they
might not wish to be.
Add to that they
understanding that "leaving" an intimate relationship or a marriage
is not a single
event; it is an accumulation of decisions and actions. In other
words, it's a process, not just an event.
Anyone who's ever
stayed in a bad job or had a roommate conflict or has been in an
intimate relationship
where the "breaking up" took longer than the "being in love" knows
what this involves; you don't have to
be battered to identify.
B. Regardless
of what the victim intends to do about the relationship, risks need
to be
identified and evaluated, and plans need to be constructed for a
variety of situations:
a crisis, such as
an assault;
a continuing to
live with an assaulting or abusive partner;
"leaving",
including the preparation, announcement, separation and living
independently phase;
Sometimes,
people "leave" because they are fleeing a crisis. In other
cases, "leaving" is very
carefully planned over an extended period of time. Depending on
the situation, it may be possible
to negotiate the terms of "leaving", but for some victims, it's
safest to disappear without an
announcement or message.
continuing to
date or have social contact with a partner from whom one has at
least temporarily
separated, and attempting to re-negotiate the terms of the
relationship;
Face it:
people are going to do these things. And for reasons that may be
good. Or because
the terms of a court order require them to. In any event,
unless the victim is so impaired as
to require adult protective services, this is simply none of
your business. (It may concern you,
but it's none of your business.) You reduce your own level of
frustration and error by
anticipating it.
maintaining an
independent life after a permanent separation, divorce or
termination of a relationship.
VII.
Crisis plans
Think about
handling yourself in a crisis:
If you sense
trouble, or find yourself in an argument, move to a "low risk space"
- rooms with two exists
and where there are fewer things that can be used as weapons; rooms
where you can be seen or heard
from the outside.
Kitchens,
bathrooms and garages are more dangerous than living rooms, dining
rooms, or bedrooms.
Can you guess why?
Learn - and teach
your children - to get positioned "between trouble and the door."
Learn defensive tactics. If you are going to be around someone who
is likely to hit you, learn how to
position your body to reduce the damage.
Create signals
and/or code words that will let your children know to get out and go
to a pre-arranged
place of safety, or that will let your neighbors/family members know
to come over (and create a supportive
or defusing presence) or to call for help.
Examples of
signals are a turned-on porch light or a drawn shade, or an "I can't
come over on Thursday
after all" phone call to a friend or family member.
Have an escape plan and a back-up. Rehearse
getting out: in the dark and with your children. Keep
spare keys and important documents where you can get to them
readily.
Consistent with
their age, their "instincts" and their skills, developed safety
plans for the children: about
calling for help, or getting to a place where they will be safer.
Do whatever it
is you need to do to buy time and/or space, to defuse the
situation, or to protect
yourself and your children.
VIII.
Elements of safety plans for victims who are "staying" or "staying
in contact"
Reduce isolation
wherever it can be done without "rocking the boat" - find neutral
opportunities to build
and maintain social supports
That is, ways you
can connect with people that your partner is less likely to find
threatening or provoking
Through children:
playgroups and child-care "co-ops"; Headstart home-and-school
programs; PTA or
Home-School Associations; sports; scouting; attending to children's
health needs;
Through church or
spiritual communities;
By having friends
and family drop by, particularly people in whose presence the abuser
is likely to keep
things in check.
Over the long
term, develop better options
For victims who
have a couple of very young children, or children with special
needs, a safety plan may
well have "not getting dead" as its short-term objective, with the
long-term goal of "getting out":
Although
you may not be at all comfortable with this decision, it may
well be not only the best thing
the victim can do at the moment, but also the safest. The victim may
well get out:
after there
are no more - or there are less burdensome - child care
expenses,
after the
children are old enough to speak for themselves in
custody/visitation proceedings,
after the
children are old enough to enact their own safety plan.
after the
victim's education - or some critical stage of her children's
education - is completed,
after the
victim is better able to cope emotionally or physically, gets
out of treatment, off
probation/parole, or out of mandated services,
after the
abuser is fully vested in a pension or is able to leave his/her
military/law enforcement
job or political position.
4. Safety
plans for victims who are "staying" should always include:
Getting a
cellular phone and programming it for an emergency call;
Learning to
protect the privacy of communications: how to "foil" Caller ID and
automatic recall functions;
using someone else's credit card to make calls; adding (if you can
do it safely) a "password voice mail"
feature to your existing telephone service;
Avoiding "little
ears";
Children in these
situations often have conflicting emotions and are too easily
"pumped" for information
by the abusive partner or allies. It's important to protect children
from things they don't need to hear or
might be overwhelmed by.
Paying attention
to the fact that cellular and cordless phones, baby monitors,
household intercoms and
even some hearing aids can be picked up on a scanner;
Finding really
safe places to store or hide documents, diaries, notes, letters and
other information:
Figure out safe
places to hide things. Under the silverware divider? In a coffee can
in the freezer?
Between the mattress and the box spring? Behind a drawer? Use your
best judgment.
This can be
understood in part as building evidence for a future legal case, in
the event there has to be one.
Developing
practical skills that will also build self-confidence: like learning
to drive, learning to do simple
home repairs and/or auto maintenance, or learning to swim;
Note: this
last item turned out to be really useful for the protagonist in
Living with the Enemy.
Completing or
furthering education and developing marketable skills;
This may include
learning English; learning to read, learning to drive, or improving
existing reading
and computational skills.
Finding part-time
work or a developing home business;
Squirreling away
small amounts of money; opening separate bank accounts; getting
credit in your
own name;
Consider,
immediately before leaving, transferring assets out of joint
accounts and into your own
name, so you can retain control of them until the courts get to
decide.
Similarly, if you
can, use the "cash advance" feature of your jointly-held credit
cards and take them
to their limit,
then put the money in an interest-bearing account in your own name.
Helping the kids
get part-time jobs and teaching them to save money
IX. Elements
of separation-based safety plans include elements of crisis and
"staying" planning
(see above) plus
1.
Personal security measures limit the batterer's access to the victim
or help the victim shield
themselves - and information about their whereabouts, activities and
intentions - from the batterer.
All of
these involve some kind of personal loss, dislocation or disruption
of personal/family routines;
most of them cost money - and some create significant financial
burdens.
Victims will
understandably and legitimately resent having to bear these costs in
order to achieve a
measure of safety and privacy. Don't try to undercut these feelings;
help them to do what needs to
be done despite the fact that "it's not fair."
Moving. This is
easier to do if you are a tenant, although there may be need for
legal assistance in
getting out of a lease; harder to do when
it involves selling a home. This may require leaving the
area altogether, and if children are involved, the civil courts will
have something to say about it.
Try to use a "no
name" mover, so you can't be easily traced, or more your things
to storage, then
use a different company to move them to where you're going.
In extreme cases,
relocation is an element of a complete change of identity. Unless a
person is
involved in a formal victim/witness program, this generally requires
a number of illegal acts and a
strong commitment to following through, including a willingness to
cut most, if not all, existing
personal ties.
Protecting the
confidentiality of your new address
notify the local
postal service that it is not to release the change of
address information;
changing your
mailing address to a private box; using a private mailing service,
or renting a
post office in a different location from where you live;
using your
"mailbox" address on personal checks, letterheads and business
cards;
getting dropped
from commercial mailing lists that get rented or sold (especially
with
companies who send your catalogs or publications);
advising phone
company, utilities, banks and creditors of the change and asking
them to put a
"code word" on your file to restrict inquiries. (TRW has a service
which will let you know if someone
runs a credit check on you;)
registering your
vehicle at and having your driver's license list your "mailbox"
address;
placing property
or other assets in trust so that your address cannot be obtained
through a title
records search;
as far as is
legally possible, (in the state where you live or from the state
that you've fled) protecting
the new address in transfers of school records and in any
legally-required release of educational information;
teaching children
to keep address and phone numbers confidential;
Changing the
phone number, getting an unlisted number and radically restricting
who you give it to,
and/or using an answering service or voice-mail number. If
you need to share a phone, (with a
roommate or relative) get a "password" voice mail feature added to
your service.
If you can afford
it, you might want to consider using one number to call-forward your
calls to
yet-another phone somewhere else.
Making sure your
address isn't listed in the phone book or "reverse" directories
If you are
routinely harassed over the telephone and you can find the money,
you might want to get
an new unlisted line while continuing to use an answering machine to
monitor calls to the "old"
number. The tapes may be useful in building a "stalking" case.
Using caller ID
and call tracing services defensively: know who's calling you before
you answer, but
learn how to keep your calls from being identified, or call from
public telephones.
Courts have the
ability to keep a petitioner's address and telephone number
confidential.
This will take a
formal request from you, and in some cases, from the prosecuting
attorney.
Get the name and
number of your abuser's probation/parole officer and stay in touch.
Where available,
enroll in victim-notification systems that will alert your to
releases from jail/prison.
Some victims may
be eligible for Federal victim-witness protections.
2. Home
security measures
keep doors,
windows, basement access and the garage locked;
change window and
door locks;
replace wooden
doors with steel/metal doors;
install
peepholes, window bars, and/or poles to wedge sliding doors;
put fire
extinguishers near your doors and learn to use them as "intruder
repellents";
if you can afford
it or negotiate with your landlord for it; install outdoor (motion
sensitive) lighting,
timed indoor lights, and/or electronic security systems and alarms;
get a dog;
program emergency
numbers into home and cellular telephones;
if you are
eligible, get involved in victim/witness programs that utilize
"panic button" security
alert systems, and/or dedicated cellular phones programmed to 911.
3. Changing or
modifying social habits
*Also refer to
Rate Your Risk tests.
Moving won't help
if you can be found at familiar places. As much as you possibly can,
vary your
patterns places: joint a new congregation; shop at different
stores; go to a new dry cleaners;
frequent different restaurants and theaters; change banks; work out
at a different gym; find a new hairdresser.
Change the route
you take to get to work or school. Get a different bus/train; get
off of the subway one stop
earlier and walk the extra distance;
Learn to spot
someone following you. If you're in the car, make four right turns
in succession, or get off and
then immediately back onto the highway (then check to see if the
car/s you're concerned about is/are still
there. If you're on foot, go into a large building through one
entrance and out a door on another side. If you're
being following, go immediately to a police or fire station.
4.
Visitation: get the clearest possible terms in orders for
visitation. These may include supervised visitation
programs, pick-ups and drop-offs that are at a neutral site or
monitored by a trustworthy third party, protective
orders that limit contact to written and emergency communications.
X. General
considerations for all safety plans
1. Keep a record
of incidents and contracts
Include the
date, time what happened, who else heard or saw, photographs,
tapes, and the names and
badge numbers of responding officers.
2. Workplace
safety
Inform your
supervisor, EAP program and/or the security office about the
situation. Some companies
have developed protocols for handling these cases.
If you
have security in your building, give them a photograph of the
abuser, a vehicle description, and a
copy of your order of protection, if you have one.
Work-site
security may also involve changing your work space or shift;
screening calls, mail, packages
and visitors; arranging for special or different parking spaces
and/or accompaniment to and from your
car, bus or subway stop. In larger organizations, it may be
possible to arrange a transfer to a different
office, or another branch.
Similarly, if
you are in college or a vocational educational program, you can
notify your adviser and the
security office, and get their help in keeping safe.
3. Children
keep copies
of orders of protection, custody and visitation with everyone
who takes care of your child,
and with their schools;
teach
children how to make collect and emergency calls, and that they
can give their address and
phone number to "safe" adults (i.e. police;)
identify
locations to re-group and rehearse "escape plans" with your
children. (You should do this in
case of fire, in any event.)
4. Personal
supports and skills
Don't
underestimate the difference it makes when people take the
victim's situation seriously, and
communicate both concern and respect. The development of a
"partnership for safety" reduces
isolation and may also reduce feelings of powerlessness and
anxiety. In addition, it helps to:
find a
"positive mirror" - friends, family members, spiritual supports
- to affirm your self-worth and ability
to cope with the abuse (and for that matter, with the changes
you're making in order to get free of it!);
get involved
in peer support groups for victims of domestic violence, sexual
assault and/or stalking; or
in individual or group psychotherapy where trauma and continuing
stress begin to compromise your
ability to function;
if you've
"left", even if it makes you anxious, try to restrict your
contact and communications with your
ex-partner, to have witnesses present when it can't be avoided,
and to keep a record of calls,
messages, or unwanted contacts;
be alert to
your own "flashpoints": don't let your abuser provoke you -
through fear or anger - into a more
dangerous situation;
learn
techniques for stress reduction;
participate
in self-defense training or the martial arts;
make a
commitment to good self-care: nutrition, sleep, regular health
care, attention to one's use of
alcohol, prescription medications and other drugs.
XI.
Suspect/Offender-Focused Interventions
A. The goals
of suspect/offender focused interventions are:
1. To establish
that batterers are strictly and solely accountable for their own
actions, and to hold them to
standards established by law;
2. To disrupt the
idea that domestic violence is a "private matter", and to establish
a "social hold" over
the abuser;
This includes
establishing bail, conditions of pretrial release, conditions of
probation, and the terms
of orders of protection, custody/visitation and support.
3. To the
greatest extent possible, to require restitution to the victim and
the community;
In addition
to covering the cost of medical care, temporary shelter, lost
work, trauma counseling and
other costs directly associated with an offense, this can
include requiring abusers to cover the victim's
attorney fees and other court costs.
4. To provide,
through access to batterers' intervention programs, the opportunity
for offenders to learn
about the dynamics of domestic violence, come to terms with their
own culpability, and effect a change in their
attitudes and behaviors.
B. In some
cases, the most appropriate suspect intervention (from the point of
view of enhancing
the safety of a given victim) is to leave it alone because any
system-based intervention directed
at the suspect/offender will dramatically escalate victim risk, in a
way that cannot adequately be
accounted for.
Most of the time,
however, by the time case reaches the attention of police or the
courts, there are criminal
offenses and/or child abuse/neglect issues that require
an affirmative response.
For example,
mandatory arrest laws; mandatory child abuse reporting; laws and
regulations involving adult
protective services; policies which are based in "prosecuting
without the victim."
In these
cases, it is absolutely incumbent upon criminal justice
professionals and the courts to take
affirmative measures to reduce the risks their actions are
creating for the victim.
C.
Intervention may involve
Detective
contacts/DA's Office "warn-off" letters
"STOP-the-stalker" and other anti-stalking surveillance and
apprehension measures
Temporary Orders
of Protection
Including
orders issues on behalf of non-victim witnesses
Arrest and
detention - for victim-directed criminal conduct
Arrest and
detention - for "other" criminal conduct
Independent
criminal activity; possession or sale of illegal drugs; weapons
charges; probation or
parole violations
Permit
revocation/weapons confiscation
Bail and
other conditions of pre-trial release
Criminal
convictions
Permanent
Orders of Protection
Jail, Fines and
Restitution
Including
weekend and "part-time" jail sentences
Suspended
sentences
Supervised
probation
Including
intensive supervision and day reporting
Electronic
monitoring and "house arrest"
Psychiatric
evaluation and hospitalization/drug and/or alcoholism treatment
(As
conditions of release/conditions of probation)
Batterers'
Intervention Programs
(As conditions of
release/probation/suspended sentence and not as an "alternative" to
a criminal resolution
of a case.)
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