DOMESTIC ACTION PLAN

ISOLATING THE VICTIM

• Makes the victim feel fearful for her families safety, by threatening her.
• Withholds phone calls and messages from family and friends.
• Claims that the victims family and friends are interferring.
• Moving the victim away from supportive family and friends.

WARNING SIGNS

• Frequent injuries on the victim
• Tries to control every aspect of their life.
• Humiliates the victim in public.
• Blames the victim for their abusive actions.
• Starts showing lack of emotion

PROGRAMS FOR HELP

• NAMI of Tarrant County
• Counseling services
• Safe Haven of Tarrant County
• Meyer Domestic Violence Center
• The Family Abusive Center

WHY dO vICTIMS sTAY?

• Fear
• Low self-esteem
• Money
• Children
• Control
• Hope for Change
• Pressure from friends and family
• Doesn't know that help is out there.

WHY DO VICTIMS STAY?

• It is not easy to end an abusive relationship. It can be hard to let go, since they depend so much in the abuser.

Deciding to end an abusive relationship has risks. Once the victim is leaving the abuser the abuser looses power and increases the danger of the victim. It is safer if the victim gets support and help.

STORY

• Elena's husband Ian is at work late again, he told her she wasn't allowed to leave the house or else something bad would happen to her. She's already full of bruises and has no way out. He's left the keys to the car locked away in a safe she's not supposed to open. Tonight she's had enough. She grabs her three children and tells Hannah the oldest to gather all the clothes and things she can for her and her baby brother who is two months old.

Zack the second oldest is gathering his stuff and helping his mom get her stuff ready while she unlocks the safe. They have approximately 20 minutes until Ian gets a notification that the safe has been open. In it is their passports, keys to the minivan, and 100,000$ cash. As she opens the safe she begins to load everything in the car making sure she leaves no trace behind.

She gets in her car with the three children and drive off to a Family Shelter where women who have a family that are abused stay. She gets help and explains the situation and they continue to accommodate them in a small house in Montana far away from her husband. She goes to online college and gives her children the best life she could. She gets a degree in teaching art because she's always been an avid drawer. She lives happily ever after.

SOURCES

• m.sapac.umich.edu/article/59
• Helpguide.org