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Safety planning for children and young people

So what can you do?

Everyone has the right to be safe from harm and if there’s violence in your home, it’s important that children and young people can stay safe when there is a fight.

Tell someone

It’s helpful if they can tell a friend or adult like a youth worker or a teacher they can trust about the abuse at home. This way, if there’s an emergency they can phone them and they’ll know about what is going on in your home. Some children/young people make up a code word so that in an emergency they just have to say the code word and the other person will know that they need help. Make sure that the person knows their address and phone number and that they’ve agreed what they should do when they call.

Talking helps

If one of you or on of their parents is being abused, you might want to talk to them about it. May be you haven’t because you don’t want to worry them any more. Parent might think that they don’t know about domestic abuse or they may not have talked to them about the abuse because they don’t want to worry them. Talking can make you both feel better and they can then look for help and support together.

Finding a safe place

There might be a room in the house where they feel safe when there’s a fight, like their bedroom. If they have brothers and sisters they might all stay together in one room. It’s good for them to stay way from the fight so that they don't get hurt. If their safe place is in a room where there’s a phone they can call the police on 999 for help if you need too, or if they have a mobile you can use that, even if they have no credit by dialling 112.

They might feel you need to leave the house. Having a friend, neighbour or another relative that you can go to if things are not safe at home can be helpful. Some young people also leave a change of clothing there so they can a while until it is safe to go home.