Key points
- Know the exact address, including floor, room or entrance
- A charged phone stays within reach of both of you
- Safety scissors and spare keys belong in the room, not in another bag
- Share medical conditions, medications and allergies beforehand
- Agree who calls for help, who stays and how restraints come off
In detail
- Address: at a hotel, club or someone else's home, know the full address, the room number or doorbell name and how paramedics get in
- Phone: charged and in the room. Know how to make an emergency call from the lock screen, on both phones
- Release: safety scissors that cut every material you use, keys for every lock plus a spare, and a way out of each position. Practice once before you need it
- Medical information: conditions, medications, allergies, recent alcohol or drugs, and past problems. Write it down for long scenes or new partners
- Roles: decide who calls and who stays with the injured person. If one of you is restrained, the other has to manage both
- Check-in contact: with someone new, tell a trusted friend where you are, with whom and when you will check in, and what they should do if you do not
- Practicalities: a blanket nearby, lights that switch on fast, a clear path to the door
- At events: find out where the first aid kit and the safety team are before you play
Warnings
- Never practice self-bondage without a reliable way out; nobody is there to call for help
- A plan that exists only in your head will not hold up in a panic; say it out loud
- Embarrassment is never a reason to delay calling for help
Resources and next steps
- A first aid course, refreshed every few years
- The agreement builder on this site, for writing down medical information
- Your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US and Canada)