The following information comes from the Stalking Resource Center (2009). For additional information visit SPARC's Safety Strategies.
How Can a Safety Plan Help?
While stalking victims cannot control their stalkers, they can be empowered to take steps to keep themselves, their families, and loved ones safe. One important step is creating a safety plan. The safety plan needs to be a working document to facilitate not only their personal safety, the safety of their family, friends and pets, and the security of their environment, but also to protect the safety of sensitive information such as financial records and passwords. While a safety plan itself does not guarantee safety, it can be a tool to identify activities, resources, and people helpful in keeping them safer.
Ongoing Process
In recognition that stalkers use multiple tactics to stalk their victims and their tactics can change over time, a safety plan needs to be re-evaluated and may need to be updated periodically. Revisions to safety plans also need to consider changes over time in victims’ lives, such as routines and access to services and support.
Critical Elements
Critical elements for stalking victim safety include but are not limited to the following:
- Keep a phone handy at all times. The phone number should be unlisted and stalkers should not have access to this phone. Emergency numbers and numbers of any trusted family, friends, and other allies should be on speed dial. Some sources encourage victims to memorize emergency numbers. In crisis mode, however, memory may not be reliable. Panic buttons or other easily engaged emergency alert devices can be helpful back-ups.
- Spend more time with friends or trusted family members rather than alone.
- Be less predictable. Victims may need to change grocery stores, take a different route to work, use public transportation, or stay with family/friends for a few days.
- Take any threats, whether explicit or implied, seriously. Know when to notify law enforcement or seek a protective order. The local rape crisis center or domestic violence shelter can assist the victim with additional information, advocacy, and support.
- Explicitly instruct businesses, agencies, schools, workplaces, family, friends, and others not to give out personal information. With businesses, victims should request that accounts be password protected. This password should only be known to the victim; no information should be released or discussed until the password has been verified.
- Use caution when sharing personal and location information. Posting details on social networking sites or on away messages (computer, phone, email, etc.) can provide stalkers with locations, pictures, and information that can compromise victim safety. An innocent comment ("Can't wait to see that new movie Saturday night.") details where the victim will be, as well as confirms that they will not be home (which would be an opportunity for a stalker to break into their home, install spyware or cameras, etc.).
- Address safety issues related to the misuse of technology by stalkers. For example, victims may need to change e-mail addresses and other online account information (passwords and access codes). Another safety tactic can include erasing the history of internet sites visited on home and public computers. If stalkers have access to victims' phones or computers, they may have the capacity to use GPS to track them—in which case, victims should stop using these devices or only use them in a manner that will not give the stalkers any information about their location.
- Trust your instincts about people, places, and things. If you do not feel safe, assess if you can take steps to increase your safety.
Also see the section in this website under victim guides, victim information for general safety planning information, including getting orders of protection in West Virginia. Additional external resources are offered there.