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It's very important to think about ways to protect yourself from abuse, or from seeing abuse between other family members. One way to do this is to get away from the situation completely, but sometimes this isn't easy.
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If things get dangerous and you're worried about you or someone else getting hurt, you can:
- call the police for help on 000
- go somewhere safe
- call someone who can help you to get safe (eg; a family friend, a trusted adult, Child Protection, or the police) See the Frequently Asked Questions
Make up your own safety action plan that will help you to think straight when everything else feels out of your control.
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What other people did when they felt scared or threatened:
- 'I'd just get up and go to my grandma's.'
- 'I ended up telling some friends about the bad fights in my family, and I crashed at their places a lot.'
- 'I hate it, the yelling and hitting and crying, and I've called the coppers when it gets bad.'
- 'I used to get my little sister and hide in my room when dad starting having a go at mum. When he got really quiet and moody . that's when I'd feel sick in the stomach. Then I'd know it was time to go to my room.'
- 'I never wanted to leave, I just wanted him to stop. For a while I used to hit back. Then I talked to our neighbour about how dad kept treating me. He's a family friend, a big guy. When I got scared, I'd get him to come over, and dad would quiet down when he saw him coming!'
- Read more in our True Stories section.
Safety Action Plan
Fill this out as best you can and memorise it. Or, if you have a place to keep it where no-one will find it, then print it out.
These are things that happen in my family that I don't have to put up with:
Somewhere safe I can go when things get scary is:
A person I trust who could help if I'm in a situation that scares me is:
Their phone number is:
We could work out a code word or phrase that lets them know I need help . The code word will be:
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