If you are preparing to leave your partner, it is a good idea to make a plan of what can be done before you leave and what you are going to take with you when you go.
If it is safe to do so, you should take anything you need or think you may need when you go because you may not be able to return to your home safely, and your ex-partner may destroy or hide items that he knows you will want.
Create a 72-hour kit. Your kit should contain essential items (copies of identification and health cards for you and your children, changes of clothing for all of you, medication, etc.) to get you through a few days if you have to leave in a hurry.
Put it in a safe location from which it will be easy to retrieve:
- at work
- with a trusted friend or family member
- in a safety deposit box at your new bank
We have developed a checklist that includes suggestions for safe ways to remove these items from the family home. You can use the column on the left to keep track of what you have done/plan to do with each item in the list.
Of course, if you leave in a hurry because it is not safe for you to stay, you won’t take these steps, and that is okay. Everything can be sorted out later, when you and the children are in a safe place.
ALWAYS REMEMBER
Your safety and the safety of your children is more important than any document or possession, no matter how treasured it may be.
