Build Your Record
You do not need perfect evidence. You only need to preserve what exists today.
Choose what you are trying to preserve. The page will show you the safest useful first step for that evidence type.
Which statement is closest?
You do not have to select the perfect category. Choose the closest one. Every path gives you a specific next action.
It can reduce the number of decisions in front of you. It is not emergency response, legal advice, therapy, or medical care.
Emotional, psychological, financial, sexual, identity-based, and technology-facilitated abuse can be documented through exact words, repeated behaviors, denied access, threats, account changes, isolation, interference with disability care, and impacts on children, pets, work, housing, or health.
Messages, email, and social media
Keep the original content, the sender or account, the date, and enough surrounding conversation to show context.
Include the account name, date, time, and platform.
Screenshots are useful, but originals can preserve more information.
Example: 2026-07-13_text-message_threat_01.png.
Your next step
Move copies into a safer account or storage location before deleting, blocking, or confronting anyone.
Review safe storagePhotos, injuries, and property damage
A useful image shows both detail and context.
Do not crop or edit the only copy.
The close image shows detail; the wider image shows location and scale.
Do not rely on memory or file metadata alone.
Your next step
Store the original separately and create a working copy for notes or sharing.
Review safe storageA pattern over time
A timeline does not need to be perfect. It needs to make repetition, escalation, and institutional response easier to see.
Then work backward as details return.
Mark them as approximate instead of guessing.
Record what happened, then what police, courts, schools, employers, or providers did.
Your next step
Create one entry today. Do not wait until the full history is complete.
Use the incident templatePolice, hospital, school, employer, or court contact
Track every interaction as a separate record.
Include badge, report, case, or reference numbers.
This matters when later comparing promises with action.
Use direct quotes only when you are confident they are accurate.
Your next step
Send important requests in writing when it is safe and appropriate so the request itself is preserved.
Prepare a written requestDigital access, account changes, and stalking
Do not rush to remove access before preserving what you can see. Some changes can alert the person monitoring you.
Take screenshots from a safer device if possible.
Unexpected logins, changed settings, battery drain, messages marked read, or location knowledge.
A broad reset can destroy evidence or escalate risk.
Your next step
Use the Digital Safety tool before making major account or device changes.
Open digital safetyI do not know what counts
Start with ordinary facts. Evidence is not limited to dramatic photographs or official reports.
Use plain language.
Messages, witnesses, receipts, calendars, calls, medical visits, school contact, property damage, or changes in behavior.
Including what you did and how an institution responded.
Your next step
One accurate entry is more useful than waiting for a perfect system.
Use the incident templateChoose storage the other person cannot reach
Separate account
A new email or cloud account created on a safer device, with recovery information the other person does not know.
Trusted person
A copy held by someone who understands not to forward, confront, or disclose without your permission.
Physical copy
Printed material stored outside the shared home or with legal, medical, or advocacy records.
Working copy
A duplicate you can organize or annotate while the original stays unchanged.
One incident entry
Date and approximate time:
Location:
What happened:
Who was present:
Evidence connected to it:
What happened next:
Institution or person contacted:
Response received:
Help them understand what you need quickly
Lead with the clearest facts first
Your emotions matter, and you do not need to hide them. When time is limited, beginning with observable facts can help a hotline, hospital, shelter, attorney, school, or agency understand urgency and route you to the right care faster.
- What happened and when
- Whether the person can reach you now
- Any injuries, threats, weapons, stalking, or forced contact
- Children, dependents, pets, or service animals affected
- Disability, communication, medication, mobility, or sensory needs
- Housing, money, transportation, phone, or identification barriers
- Your name and pronouns, if you want them used
- The specific help you are asking for today
A useful plan can include chosen family, LGBTQ+ safety concerns, older adults, disability-related care, immigration concerns, emotional or psychological abuse, financial control, children, pets, and service animals. Name the barriers that affect what is safe and possible for you.