Sexual assault
If you have experienced rape or sexual assault, the police and other organisations are there to help. Call 101 (or 999 if you are in danger or it’s an emergency) to report a rape or attempted sexual assault.
If it happened recently, in the past week, and you are unsure if you want to report your experience to the police there is some guidance about forensic evidence that might be used in their investigation and some steps to take to help preserve this.
You don't have to report the assault to the police if you don't want to. You may need time to process what has happened to you. However, consider getting medical help as soon as possible through the NHS Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). You can contact the NHS SARCs without talking to the Police first.
NHS SARCs offer medical, practical and emotional support to anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused. SARCs have specially trained doctors, nurses and support workers. They can collect and store any forensic evidence, so if you choose to report to the police in the future, they will be able to use this.
Find out more information and locate your nearest SARC on the NHS website.
If it happened a while ago, you are still able to report your experience to the Police. Even if it happened a long time ago you can still go to the police if you want to. If it happened more than a week ago you won’t need to visit NHS SARC. Although this means you will not be able to share forensic evidence, remember your account of what happened is also evidence.
Further advice is available online.
