How to Set Up a Safe Home for Abused Women
Despite the many laws and statutes in the United States that protect women from spousal and/or domestic violence and abuse statistics show this is still an ever-growing problem. Sadly even with new laws in play women who are abused by their spouses do not always receive the protection needed.
- Determine the requirements of your state to create this safe house for abused women. Research this information on your own. Bringing too much attention to yourself and this project could result in a direct association to you and the safe house. This attention could result in an abusive husband following you to find his wife.
- Secure funding for this safe house for abused women. Apply for government grants to fund this project. Government grants are available for this purpose. Ensure that you and your project are eligible for these grants. Apply following the instructions listed within the website for these grants.
- Work with a real estate agent to locate a house with adequate room for several women. Ensure that this house is close enough to the city limits that law enforcement could arrive in a timely manner yet the property is not visible to the main road.
- Begin setting up security for this home before opening it to the public.
- Construct a privacy fence that will surround the property. The height of this fence should reach the same height as the highest point of the house. It is most recommended that this fence should measure six feet. However the point is to keep them out not simply block their view. An abusive man in reasonably good physical shape could easily climb over a six-foot fence.
- Set up audio and video surveillance on this property in locations where an intruder could not disrupt the connection and/or cover the lenses.
- Set up an alarm system that has battery backup in case the power is cut off. Connect sensors to all doors, windows, skylights and any other area where access inside the safe house is possible.
- Install bars on the inside of the windows. You do not want to draw attention to this house by installing these bars on the outside; also any man with the right tools could easily remove these bars from the outside.
- Install window tinting on all windows of this house. This prevents from anyone outside of the property from seeing inside yet provides you and the women you are protecting with the ability to see them ahead of time.
- Research the gun laws in your state and determine your rights to own a gun for protection. You are protecting women at this safe house from men who are violent. Abusive men who would track their wife down at a safe house are not likely to leave when told and they are less likely to leave due to a threat of an imminent arrival of law enforcement. These men often threaten to kill their wives if they leave them and sadly several follow through.
- Hire security for this safe house. Provide possible security personnel with photos of possible individuals who could attempt to track their wives down. Carefully screen possible security personnel. As you may know some although not all individuals who work for security guard companies often work with these organizations due to the fact that they do not qualify to become law enforcement officers. This also includes individuals who have criminal records. Conduct background checks, drug tests and ask for reference for any individual who applies. Do not supply these individuals with information pertaining to the actual purpose of your need for security. Better to be safe than sorry.
- Set up a panic room. Even with security and security personnel you are not guaranteed that nothing will go wrong. With a panic room in place you could secure the women you are protecting until law enforcement arrives.
- Provide social workers and law enforcement with ways of contacting you when a victim of domestic violence seeks refuge.
- Refrain from placing signs on the property identifying it as a safe house. Refrain from having any form of correspondence sent to the physical address. Use a post office box.