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

Talking helps

If one of you or one of your 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. Parents might think that you don’t know about domestic abuse or they may not have talked to you about the abuse because they don’t want to worry you. Talking can make you both feel better and you can then look for help and support together.

Finding a safe place

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

You 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 stay a while until it is safe to go home.