DOMESTIC VIOLECE:
HOW TO TAKE ACTION

What you can do if something about your relationship scares you:

Find out what resources are available in your community.

Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224. Advocates are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Talk with somebody you trust: a friend or relative, someone from your job or house of worship.

Call the police if you don't feel safe, if you feel you or your children may be harmed, and especially if you feel your life is in danger.

Ask your friends or family for help with transportation, childcare, financial assistance or for a shoulder to cry on.

Remember that you are the expert about your own life. Don't let anyone talk you into doing something that's not right for you.

Develop a safety plan. How and when can you most safely leave? Where will you go? Put together and hide a suitcase of clothing, personal items, money, identification cards, social security cards, birth certificates, bank records and other important documents.

How you can help a friend or loved one who is being abused:

Lend a sympathetic ear. Listening may be the best support you can offer. Always believe what the victim says. Keep an open mind, and never blame the victim or underestimate the victim's fear of potential danger.

Become informed. Contact local programs and services that assist victims of intimate partner violence and their children. To learn about programs in your area, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.

Share the information you have gathered. Let your friend/loved one know that there are professionals that can help.

Provide emotional support. If you can, offer transportation, childcare, financial assistance and a shoulder to cry on. Encourage the development of a safety plan. Help him or her think through the steps necessary to safely leave the abuser. Suggest that he or she put together and hide a suitcase of clothing, personal items, money, identification cards, social security cards, birth certificates, bank records and other important documents.

Help is available by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224:

Every month, more than 13,000 callers reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH), the only national hot line in the United States that provides crisis intervention and information about domestic violence resources in your area. The hot line is toll-free, and highly trained advocates are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist callers and connect them to local domestic violence resources. Each caller can receive the information he or she needs to find safety and begin a new life that is free from violence. The extensive hot line database contains contact information on more than 4,000 shelters and service providers across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bilingual staff and a language line are available for non-English-speaking callers. Deaf abused women can also find help at the hot line by calling the TTY line at 800-787-3224. Since the hot line's inception in 1996, advocates from the NDVH have helped more than 650,000 callers from all over the world.