How do you stay safe?

Risk assessment chart

RISK ASSESSMENT: WHAT IS IT?

Risk assessment looks at the risk of harms.  It looks at things that have happened in the past and what is happening now, to think about what might happen in the future.

Risk assessment includes thinking about how things are changing.  Times of highest risk are when the person causing harm feels like they are losing control of the relationship, like:

• when the person they are hurting tries to get away, starts seeing someone new or gets back control of their life in some way
• when people start finding out that violence has been happening
• when the person causing harm is confronted about their violence.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid leaving an abusive relationship or confronting someone about their violence.  It does mean you need to be aware of dangers and plan for safety.  Think through all possible reactions.  Think of the risks to all people involved: the person who has been harmed; people close by, especially children; and the person doing harm.

Whenever you do risk assessment, first check for Signs of immediate danger.

Risk assessment chart

1. What are the harms already being faced (use the Naming the harms chart, which you might have already filled out)
2. What is still a risk now, what may be a risk later.
3. Fill in the chart below to assess risk:

COLUMN 1: RISK, DANGER OR HARM

In the first column, name the risk, danger or harm, the following list may help.  Use your own words to describe the risk in your situation.

• Physical or threatened harm [tag as high danger], like punching, kicking, choking [tag as emergency], burning, poisoning [tag as emergency]
• Physical or threatened harm to others [tag as high danger], like children [tag as emergency], whānau, friends, neighbours, co-workers
• Physical or threatened harm to self; threats of suicide [tag as emergency]
• Physical threat with a weapon [tag as emergency]
• Physical and emotional threat by stalking or harassment using phone, text, email, social media [tag all of this as emergency]
• Physical and emotional harm by being forced to use drugs [tag as high danger]
• Emotional or verbal abuse [tag as high danger], like loss of reputation; ‘outing’ or sharing unwanted information or lies to friends, whānau or community; isolation [tag as emergency]
• Threats to harm relationships with whānau, friends or children [tag all of this as emergency]
• Emotional or verbal abuse by insults, threats, humiliation
• Sexual harm including rape, molestation, forced sexual acts, exposure to pornography and posting private sexual photos or information online [tag all as emergency]
• Financial harm by destroying or taking property
• Financial harm through job loss
• Financial harm by taking money from bank account
• Financial harm by refusing to repay loans or debt, or through reckless use of credit cards or gambling
• Other harms such as threats to report to immigration, child welfare, WINZ, gangs.

COLUMN 2: WHO IS CAUSING THE HARM

In the second column, name the person or situation causing the harm.  Harm may be directly threatened by a person.  Or the threat may come from a situation, like insecure housing or employment, visa or residency status, being on a benefit, or being marginalised in some way.

COLUMN 3: WHO IS THE TARGET

In the third column, name who or what is the target of risk, danger or harm.  It may be the person directly harmed; others including friends, whānau or community; or the threat may be to a person’s home, pets, job, benefit or residency status.  The threat may be to those who are taking action.

COLUMN 4: WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF DANGER

For example:

• Emergency
• High
• Moderate
• Low
• No risk now
• More information needed

Remember the Signs of immediate danger.  Any of those signs are emergency level dangers.

Use colours, names or symbols that suit you.  The most important signals are when danger is so high that you need to act now (Emergency), when the danger has disappeared (No risk now) and when more information is needed (More information needed). 

COLUMN 5: IS THE HARM GETTING WORSE OR BETTER

Is the harm becoming more or less common?

Is the harm getting more or less violent or intense?

Risk assessment chart

Safety plan and action worksheet

What are safety plans?  Safety actions?

Once the level of harm and risk are considered, you and your team will want to think about safety plans in case there is immediate danger, and safety actions to try to get safe.

Safety plans

Safety plans are often made for ‘what if’ situations.  They include who to call in an emergency, signals for others that help is needed, safe-keeping things needed for escape, plans to pick up children and keep them safe.

Safety actions

Safety actions might need to happen immediately in order to be safe, reach safety or get people out of harm’s way.  Safety actions are particularly necessary when there is crisis or high danger.  This includes danger of physical harm, as well as emotional, sexual and financial harm.  Safety plans include removing weapons, moving children to a safer place, involving friends and whānau, and distracting someone who is dangerous to lower the level of violence or get them away while plans for safety are being made.

Getting together as a safety network

Safety actions are often taken when there is danger, so they should include at least one other person (more is better) to help with planning, support and follow up.

They are best done with a group of community allies whose roles might include:

1. Brainstorming risks, safety plans and actions
2. Brainstorming who is best for roles in creating safety
3. Getting more information on who can help or what the dangers might be
4. Planning or taking action for safety
5. Being a back-up person.

How to use the safety plan and action worksheet

1. Get together with another person or as a team

2. Make a risk assessment chart or check it if you have already made one. Make sure it is based on what’s happening now.

3. Think about how each risk can match up to a Safety Plan that responds to it. Start with the highest risks before thinking about ones with lower levels of danger. Make notes to help with fulling out the worksheet.  Things to think about:

• What do you need to do to be safe (or reduce risk)? For example:
  • Prepare for escape (see Escape safety checklist for help)
  • Tell trusted people about what is happening
  • Ask trusted people to help (See Who can help for people harmed, people causing harm and allies for more ideas about how people can help). They could:
    • Watch for danger in specific situations
    • Be an emergency person to call
    • Brainstorm in times of confusion or crisis
    • Remember plans and details
    • Check in regularly by stopping by, calls, emails, texts
    • Get emergency help if a signal is given
    • Be physical protection
    • Be emotional or spiritual support
    • Be around as a witness to harm
    • Distract or reason with person doing harm
    • Confront person doing harm to prevent further harm
    • Get and take care of children or other dependents
    • Get and take care of pets
    • Provide a safe place (home, office, school, church, etc)
    • Keep emergency items in a safe place
  • Find out about and contact resources. They might include stopping violence programme/organisation, counsellor, knowledgeable family members or friends, internet, legal services, workplace, union, school
  • Prepare or gather things that you need to take action
  • Get locks or change locks
  • Keep important things in protected areas—friend’s home, safety deposit box, workplace.
• What are safe ways to contact people?
  • Think about confidentiality and making sure that information doesn’t become public through shared computers, emails, voice mail or reading other people’s texts.
• Can you get where you need to go safely?
  • Safe routes
  • Safe ways to travel
  • Safe place to park car
  • Back-up transport
  • Picking up other allies, family, or friends.
• Do you have a safe place to meet?
  • Think about confidentiality and making sure that people are safe to talk
  • If you are meeting with someone who might cause harm, think about using a public space where there are people around.
• Do you have safe places to escape to or hide?
  • People may need places to hide or public places where they might be safer.
• What needs to be in a communication plan?
  • Signs or signals that things are okay or not okay
  • Follow up communication that things went okay or not okay
  • Follow up communication for next steps
  • Agreement on who can know what and who can’t.

4. What needs action now?

Sometimes you need to take action to make things safe because the danger level is so high.  Other times, you might act now because something has happened that gives you have a chance to act.

Examples of times when you may want act:

• Someone needs to escape from immediate risk of harm
• Children or youth need to be removed from risk of harm
• Weapons need to be removed to decrease level of danger
• Health or mental health concerns need immediate action
• Someone causing harm needs to be immediately removed from a situation, asked to stay away, distracted from entering a situation, locked out, banned (at least temporarily), physically restrained (if this is necessary to keep them from causing harm).

Other things to think about

This website encourages honest communication and action, but that’s not always safe.  Distraction, hiding information and outright dishonesty are often needed, especially when there is high danger.  Safety Plans and Actions may also need some level of force.

Safety must come first.  At times, you may need to use dishonesty or threats, force or restraint on the person doing harm.

If the person doing harm is taking accountability, it may be safe to be more honest.  That could include talking about why earlier actions were less honest.

Safety plan and action worksheet

This safety plan is for the following situation:

This safety plan covers the time period:

The safety plan includes:

• What are the risks and dangers? What can go wrong?
• Who do we need to look out for? Who or what can cause risks and dangers—people, situations or systems?
• Who can get hurt? How?
• What can we do to stay safe?
• Who is responsible for what part of the safety plan?
• Have we covered everything? Do we need to bring in more people?
• Is there an emergency back-up plan? What is it?  How will we know to go to the back-up?  A signal or code?

The follow up plan includes:

• How did it go?
• What did we learn?
• How does this affect our safety plan? Our overall intervention?
• Are there any changes to be made? What are they?
• Who do we need to get in touch with? Who will do that?
• What do we need to tell them?
• Who can know?
• Who should not know?
• What are the next steps?

1. Read the Basics section

Interpersonal violence is complicated.  Many of us don’t really understand it or what to do about it.  Read the Basics about violence section for a clearer picture of what is going on.  The Basics about violence intervention section shares lessons Creative Interventions have learned from responding to violence.

Share this information with others who may be in a situation of violence and need resources to help them work out what to do.

2. Risks can increase as people take action to end violence

Interpersonal violence is often about maintaining control over others.  When people take action to end violence or gain safety, you may feel threatened, angry and defensive.  Your violence may get worse.  You may want to lash out.  You may want to harm yourself.

These risks need to be included in your safety planning.  You need to take responsibility for stopping your violence.  This includes getting support and avoiding anyone or anything that means you are more likely to be violent.

3. Think about safety for everyone

Safety may involve many people—the person you hurt; their children, friends, whānau, workplace and community; the people carrying out the intervention; and your safety.  Aim for a plan that includes everyone’s safety.  If you can’t think clearly about other people’s safety, listen to people who can.

4. Involve other trusted people in staying safe

Because intervention actions often involve some danger, each action should involve at least one other person (hopefully more) to help with planning, support and follow up.

People could help by:

• Acting as a sounding board
• Going through a safety plan together
• Spending time with you at times that might be hard for you, or when it is hard for you to make good decisions—for example, when others are meeting about the violence or when you are drunk.

5. Make safety checks a regular part of your plan

Risks and dangers can change constantly.  Make risk assessment and safety plans a regular part of your intervention—and, if necessary, of your daily life.

A situation can change for many reasons:

• People are hearing about your violence and say things, or treat you differently
• People have come together to take action
• The person you harmed becomes happier or more confident
• The person you harmed may leave you.

You may feel threatened or upset by these changes and find it harder to make good decisions.  What can you do to make safe choices?

6. Remember the signs of increased risk

The risk and level of harm is much higher if:

1. Weapons are involved—guns, knives, machetes, anything that can cause great harm
2. You have a history of causing violence
3. You are feeling suicidal, or threatening suicide. 
   
   

Risks are higher when you feel like you are losing control of the person or situation.  Violence is more likely at these times.  Take extra steps to make safe choices at these times.

7. Separate safety from other feelings of discomfort

Exposing someone to situations they aren’t used to may make them feel uncomfortable, but it is not necessarily a threat to their safety.  You may feel vulnerable and unsafe when you are asked to take responsibility for the harm you have caused.  If you are in danger, if you feel suicidal or out of control, get help now (call or text 1737 anytime to talk to a trained counsellor, or see Resources for organisations that can help).  If you are not in danger, what you are feeling might be fear, vulnerability or insecurity because you aren’t in control. 

Like any big change, ending and being responsible for your violence will require some discomfort.

8. Prioritise the safety of young people

Young people are sensitive to violence.  Your behaviour may be hurting your children or other young people, even if you don’t mean to.  You may want to think about how to keep the young people in your life safe from you.