Safety Planning
If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1
A safety plan is designed by individuals who are in a trafficking situation or who are wanting to exit one. It is comprised of actionable steps that can assist someone in gaining safety.
A safety plan will be dependent on each situation but should involve:
- all of the current and potential risks to your safety
- ways to minimize those risks
- what to do if you ever feel unsafe
A good safety plan will need to be adaptable to change.
Safety Planning Tips
Tips to stay safe in a dangerous situation:
-
try to avoid rooms where there aren't any exits such as windows or doors
-
if you are in a situation where you are being assaulted, try to protect you head, neck and abdomen
-
if possible, discuss safety words with friends and/or family you can trust and use them when you feel unsafe
Tips to stay safe in a trafficking situation when you are ready to leave:
-
put together a "go-bag" with any important documents and money you have access to, changes of clothes, medications, and contact information of trusted individuals or services
-
if someone is monitoring your devices, or even if you suspect that someone is, clear the browser history and cache every time you use them
-
if you are being supervised, observe the individual's daily patterns and behaviours - most importantly, the times you are more often to be left alone and for how long to help determine the best time to leave
-
if you are saving numbers for hotlines or services in your phone, consider saving them under different contact names
-
if you are being moved around quite frequently and are unsure of where your location is, try to identify landmarks, street signs, and/or stores that are around you
-
Try to plan an exit route and practice it, even if you cannot physically practice - go over it in your head
It is important to note that once you decide that you are ready to leave your situation, traffickers can become increasingly violent and aggressive. They often resort to more intense abuse when they sense that they are losing control. Please use your judgement and stay as safe as possible if this occurs.
Tips to stay safer once you leave your trafficking situation:
-
if your trafficker had access to any of your accounts, consider changing their passwords
-
try to limit or stop any and all contact between your trafficker and anyone associated with them
-
this can be achieved by blocking their phone number(s) and social media accounts, as well as not telling them where you are now residing
-
-
if your trafficker does contact you and threatens your life or safety, document and keep any records of that harassment and reach out to any of the services you are currently using or contact a local resource from our list to obtain advice on how to go from there
-
there are many social services organizations that are available to human trafficking survivors to help you navigate next steps and keep yourself and loved ones safe, reach out if you feel like you need that help