Preparing to Leave
Have a safe place to go where your husband or boyfriend will not be able to find you. Keep the fact that you are leaving a secret until you go. It is easy for children to tell others, or for the abuser to question children and find out that you are preparing to leave. If possible, keeps notes or a diary of when abuse occurred and what happened.

Only take what you can safely take.

If you are thinking about leaving, you may want to collect these things and put them in a safe place, in case you decide to leave quickly. If you are leaving an abusive relationship, it is a good idea to take the following items:

- Important documents such as birth certificates, passports, citizenship papers, immigration papers, health cards, social insurance card, his social insurance number.
- Money, credit cards
- Cheque book, bank book
- Personal telephone number and address book
- Medicine
- House keys
- Driver's license and car keys
- Children's favourite toys and books
- Valuable jewelry
- A picture of your spouse, partner

In an emergency, do not stop to collect your things. Just go.