I speak with a support worker to set up a safety plan.

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My experience:

I can’t keep living with this constant anxiety.

I described what I’m going through to my support worker. She listened to me, believed me, and, most importantly, helped me think of concrete strategies to help me regain a bit of safety.

She suggested:

  • Taking different routes when leaving the house.
  • Doing errands at different times of day.
  • Permanently deactivating GPS localization on my phone, my car and any other smart device.
  • Keeping track of incidents with a journal: noting down the time and place where I saw him, what happened and the emotions I felt.
  • Preparing for legal proceedings if I wish to take things further.
Explanation:

Post-separation violence requires a new and adapted safety plan. Speaking with a trained support worker makes it possible to go through concrete adjustments to your daily life. This type of support can also help create documentation of the surveillance behaviours so they can be recognized for what they are—strategies of control.

Resources:

SOS Violence Conjugale, Alliance MH2 : violence-postseparation.ca, Lab 2038

This project was funded by the Government of Quebec/Secrétariat à la condition féminine.