Your safety after you have left

Unfortunately, the abuse may not end when you leave the perpetrator, so it is important to continue to keep yourself and any children safe. Our Domestic Abuse Service will help you keep yourself as safe as possible, but here are some suggestions:

• Try to avoid places you know that the perpetrator goes to.
• Alter your routine as much as possible.
• Change your route to work, and your children's route to school.
• Change your mobile phone and/or phone number. Do not give your new number to the perpetrator, or anyone you do not trust. Turn off any apps that could track your location (your client support worker will advise you on this).
• Stop using any bank cards or credit cards which are shared.
• Make sure your address doesn't show on court papers, if it is not safe for the perpetrator to know where you live.
• Apply to join the electoral register anonymously.

If children are involved:

Tell the school what has happened. Give them copies of any court orders and make sure they know who will be collecting the children from school each day.

If it is not safe for the perpetrator to know where you live, ensure children don't give the perpetrator the address.

Ask our Domestic Abuse Service about our children's therapy, to support your children.

If you are staying in the family home after separation:

Our Domestic Abuse Servicve will help you with all of these issues, but these are things you will need to be considering:

• Consider getting occupation/non-molestation orders, and keep all paperwork safe.
• Improve the security of your home via a local Sanctuary Project.
• Keep all windows and doors locked.
• Install an outside light.
• Change your home telephone number.
• Screen your incoming phone calls, and use answerphones where possible.

"Going to court that day was the scariest thing I ever did in my whole life but my support worker helped me through it. JWA put me and my children in a hotel for a few nights and brought us kosher food, and toys for my children, and called me every day. When my children and I returned home JWA arranged for a company to come and put alarms on all of our windows and give us a new (and very secure) front door - all free of charge."