As a safe parent, you can help create a safety plan for your child. It is best to do this with them so you can practice together and ensure they understand what to do.

• Identify any adults in their network who are safe and trusted and who they could speak with if they were worried or concerned.
• Tell them not to try to protect you but to go to your agreed upon safe place like a neighbor’s house. 
• Teach them how to call the police and to stay on the phone until they arrive.
• Make sure they know their full name and address.
• Identify what sorts of strategies they can try when they feel worried or scared.

If someone in your family is violent or threatening the safety of you or your children, you can ask the court to make orders to help increase your safety. 

• You may be able to get a protection order under family law (often called a family law protection order) or criminal law (often called a peace bond). Sometimes you can get orders under both. 
• The police can help you get a criminal law protection order, but you can also ask for one on your own. Check to see if there are free lawyers available in the court to help you. 
• If you need one urgently, you can often get a family law protection order on the same day you ask for it. 
• You will need to explain to a judge why the protection order is necessary. This means telling the judge about what the other person has done or threatened to do, or what you are worried they will do and why.  If you have other evidence, such as threatening text messages, you should bring them to show to the judge. 

Judges can also make orders about how you and the other party behave if it will help increase safety. For example, if the other parent yells and behaves aggressively when you exchange kids, you could ask for an order that exchanges take place in a public place or that all communication between the two of you is in writing. 

If there is evidence that a parent is not safe to be around your children, you can ask for an order for supervised parenting time. Depending on the situation, this could require a trusted friend or family member to be present during the parent’s time with the children. 

• Police, in an emergency or if you are seeking a criminal law protection order
• Family lawyers, including legal aid lawyers in court houses
• Other family justice professionals
• Victim service workers
• Community groups and services
• Court registry workers

See Getting Help for more resources in your area