Novels, movies and many well-meaning sources have created the fiction of an underground for battered women. The underground supposedly supplies victims with a new identity, transportation to get away, a place to live, a job, money and everything else they need to start a new life. To our knowledge, there is no such underground.
There is, however, an established network of domestic violence shelters. Using the shelter network may be possible, but it will be more complicated for you because your abuser is in law enforcement.
Police often know the location of shelters. The intake process for a shelter may require personal information that you are unwilling to give as it may jeopardize your safety. The shelter may require that you file a police report or get an Order of Protection to remain in the shelter and you may not feel that these are viable options in your situation.
You may think that the only way you will ever be safe is to change your identity so the abuser cannot find you. This becomes more unrealistic every day as businesses and the government compile enormous shared databases.
Changing your identity means more than changing your name, social security number, address and phone number. It means your children leaving their school, you leaving your job, leaving both your friends and family.
You will have to leave behind anything that links to your former identity or that could lead the abuser to you [personal account].
Changing your identity means leaving behind every thing that makes you "you" in the legal sense and social sense.
Applying for financial assistance or food stamps, moving to transitional housing, finding employment, getting medical care, and enrolling children in school all require identifying information.
Most social service providers, employers, landlords, banks, etc. require an extensive history before they will provide services or employment.
Carefully consider the long-lasting consequences of changing your identity before you start the process. A few of these are:
Your children will also be affected:
Should you decide to take this step, you will have to go to a Social Security Administration (SSA) office to apply for a new number. You will have to prove that you are a victim of domestic violence and that you are in danger. They require documentation such as police reports, copies of protection orders, letters from shelters.
You may not have these documents because your abuser is a police officer. You might not have been able to access the normal avenues of help.
Ask a domestic violence advocate to go to the SSA office with you to help explain your circumstances. The SSA will review your application and inform you of their decision within several weeks. If your application is denied, you have a right to appeal the decision.
The Social Security Administration has additional information about changing your social security number. Please be aware that online information may be outdated.
Credit bureaus, law enforcement agencies and other governmental agencies can match your new number with the old number. While the Social Security Administration (SSA) is not to disclose information about your new number without your consent, it is required by law to disclose it to many agencies, including the IRS, Department of Justice, INS and the Selective Service System.
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