After Ending the Relationship

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• Change all locks on doors and windows. Install a security system, extra locks, steel or metal doors, window bars, better lighting, motion-sensitive and outdoor lighting, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers.

• Inform trusted neighbors that the abuser no longer lives with you. Ask them to call the police if they observe the abuser near your home or children or if they hear or see anything suspicious around your home.

• Avoid places (stores, banks, etc.) and routes that the abuser uses often or expects you to use often.

• Change your work hours or the route you take to work. Create a plan for leaving work safely every day and a process for screening your calls.

• Talk with schools, childcare providers, and anyone who takes care of your children about who has permission to pick them up.

• Teach your children what to do if the abuser takes them, such as calling you, the police, or trusted family members and friends.

• Apply for a restraining order and keep it on you. Call the police to enforce the order. Give copies to employers, neighbors, and schools along with a photo of the offender.

• Talk to a lawyer who specializes in family violence. Learn about options that will protect you and your children when it comes to divorce, custody, and visitation.

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• If you have a custody agreement with the abusive partner, develop a safety plan for visitation, such as whom the children can call or where they can go if they need help.

 

• Plan for safe custody exchanges, such as meeting in a safe public place and bringing someone you trust

 

 

 

Sexual Assault Counseling

Jamaica Coalition Against Domestic Violence (JCADV) will refer victims of sexual assault and trauma to specialized services for victims of sexual assault, including treatment, intervention, education, advocacy, and prevention in Jamaica. For more information call the Helpline at 1-800-598-7607.

For individual and group counseling services to victims of sexual assault please contact your medical doctor for referrals or counselors in your community.

 

Sexual Assault Advocate

Rapid HIV Testing & Sexual Health Counseling

Sexual health is important for survivors of abuse. The JCADV will refer victims to their local clinic or hospital emergency department that offers rapid HIV and other sexually transmitted infections testing and other services. Your local clinic may provide information in all matters related to sexual health and sexuality.

According to research studies, women and men in relationships with violence have four times the risk for contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, than women in relationships without violence.