FAMILY SAFETY PLAN

Creating a family safety plan

The following exercise is meant to help raise awareness of the risks that increase a child’s vulnerability to sexual exploitation. It also highlights protective factors that can reduce those risks. Creating a ‘big picture’ view of your child’s life will help you see where protection and risk already exists, and how to create a plan to manage the risks identified.

How do I start?

• 1. Create a ‘big picture’:
  1. Carefully read through safeguards and check off the ones that exist in your child’s life.
  2. Carefully read through the risks and check off the ones that exist in your child’s life.
  3. Highlight the safeguards you feel are the most important.
  4. Highlight the risks that are your biggest concern.
• 2. Make a plan: Continue to strengthen the safeguards. Choose two or three risks you have control over. How can each one be reduced or managed?
• 3. Implement your plan.
• 4. Revisit the plan regularly to assess its effectiveness. Make ongoing adjustments as needed.