Your Rights
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- You have the right to be treated with respect, be heard, say “NO,” come and go as you please, have privacy and space of your own, and maintain your individual identity.
- Millions of women are dealing with violence. Although it is usually hidden, this kind of abuse is very common and affects people from all walks of life.
- No one has the right to physically or mentally harm you. That kind of behavior is against the law!
How to Protect Yourself at Home
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- Learn where to get help; memorize emergency phone numbers
- Plan an escape route out of your home; teach it to your children.
- Pack a bag with important things you’d need if you had to leave quickly.
- Put it in a safe place or give it to a friend or relative you trust.
- Include cash, car keys, and other important things, such as: court papers, passport or both certificates, medical records and medicines, immigration papers.
In an Emergency
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- Stay away from the kitchen. The abuser can find weapons — like knives — there.
- Stay away from the bathroom, closets, or other small spaces where the abuser can trap you.
- Go to a room with a door or window to escape.
- Go to a room with a phone to call for help; lock the abuser outside if you can.
- Call 911 (or local emergency number) right away for help; get the dispatcher’s name.
- Seek medical help if you are hurt.
- Take pictures of bruises or injuries.
- If you are being hurt by a partner, relative, or friend, get immediate help by contacting one of the area agencies below.
Additional Resources
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Legal/Crisis Info
- Legal Services of Eastern Missouri: (314) 534-4200 x 1244
Shelters
- Comtrea-Jefferson County: (636) 931-2700 24-hour
- St. Martha’s Hall: (314) 533-1313 24-hour
- Weinman Shelter: (314) 423-1117 24-hour
- Women’s Center: (636) 946-6854 24-hour
- Women’s Safe House: (314) 772-4535 24-hour
- Alive: (314) 993-2777 24-hour
Counseling
- YWCA Women’s Resource Center providing sexual assault services: (314) 726-6665
- YWCA Women’s Resource Center Rape Crisis Hotline: (314) 531-RAPE (7273)
- Safe Connections Crisis Line: (314) 531-2003
- Life Source Consultants: (314) 524-0686
- Center for Trauma Recovery: (314) 516-6737
- Safe Connections: (314) 646-7500
Victim Services
- Victim Services-Country: (314) 615-4872
- Victim Servies-City: (314) 622-4373
- St. Charles Victim Assistance Program: (636) 949-7370
Help and Support in Metro St. Louis
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- ALIVE (Alternatives to Living In Violent Environments): Provides support services and short-term emergency sanctuary for adults and children victimized by domestic violence.
- Center for Trauma Recovery: A service of the University of Missouri – St. Louis which provides counseling for women who have suffered personal traumas such as beatings, rape, and assault.
- St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office: Information, resources, and support including the Sex Offender and Child Abuse Registry List for the City of St. Louis, Victim Rights, and the Neighborhood Justice Project.
- Victim Services Division of St. Louis County: Provides a variety of services to victims of crime in St. Louis Country, including supportive counseling and crisis intervention, information on criminal and juvenile court procedures, and referral to many community and state resources. VSD staff and volunteer advocates assist with orders of protection, victim impact statements and crime victim compensation forms. Advocates accompany victims to hearings/trials and offer the use of two victim/witness waiting rooms in the Courts Building.
- Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc.: Provides legal assistance and equal access to justice to low-income people.
- Life Source Consultants, Inc.: Free support services for women (and their families) who are victims or survivors of physical, emotional, mental, verbal or sexual abuse, rape and incest.
- ROW – Redevelopment Opportunities for Women: Opportunities for women to pursue economic self-sufficiency, personal and family development, taking control of their lives. Services are focused on women who have experienced partner violence, homelessness and/or poverty.
- Safe Connections: 24-Hour Crisis Line (314) 531-2003; Counseling and support groups, preventing dating violence, safety planning, and sexual assault resources.
- Saint Martha’s Hall:Help for battered women and their children to break the cycle of violence in their lives by offering them safe, secure temporary shelter, education and counseling.
- Bridgeway Counseling: Alternatives to violence and abuse; case management, outreach office, batterer intervention service; Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren Counties, City of St. Louis
Professional Organizations and Further Information
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- Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- National Statistics – National Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
- St. Louis County Adult Abuse Order of Protection Pamphlet
- St. Louis County Adult Abuse Order of Protection Application Packet