Resources and support for victims and survivors of sexual assault

Emily Burt consent, healthy relationships

No-one should suffer sexual assault in silence. Here are the places you can go for help

No-one should suffer sexual assault, abuse or violence. This is never okay.

Devastatingly, sexual violence is a common occurrence, especially towards women and girls. Rape Crisis say that about 1 in 4 women have experienced rape or sexual assault during their adult lives, which is a staggeringly high number. Sexual violence also impacts LGBTQ+ people, as well as boys and men. While statistics show that more women and girls experience sexual violence than boys and men, 1 in 18 men have also experienced rape or sexual assault during their adult lives. Because societally we know about the gendered nature of sexual violence, experiencing it outside of this can make it even harder to report instances or ask for help.

Regardless of who you are, any form of sexual violence is not okay.

If you’ve experienced any form of sexual violence or harassment, there are places you can reach out to for help and support. This blog will guide you through your options.

Here are some things that can be helpful to know

🫶 Consider getting medical help as soon as possible because you may be at risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

🫶 A lot of people don’t have physical injuries after any form of sexual violence, but if you do, consider getting checked by a doctor.

🫶 A sexual assault referral centre (SARC) is a good place to start. They offer both medical attention and sexual violence support, as well as being specially trained to support people who have experienced sexual violence.

🫶 You don’t have to report anything to the police if you don’t want to.

🫶 You’ll be offered a forensic medical examination (to collect medical evidence). Some people find this reassuring, but this is entirely your choice and you don’t have to have this examination if you don’t want to. You can also choose to do just some parts of the examination, but not others.

🫶 It’s very understandable if you need time to think about what’s happened to you and process your feelings, before deciding what to do in terms of reporting. That’s okay, take your time. It’s an option to have a forensic medical examination and decide later if you want to report it and use this medical evidence.

🫶 There’s no ‘normal’ way to process what’s happened. What happened to you is not ‘normal’ and should never have happened, so it makes sense that our reaction to violence like this will not be ‘normal’ either.

Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs)

A Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is a good place to start. There are lots of them across the UK, and they’re available to everyone regardless of what has happened, when it happened, gender, age or anything else. These centres provide crisis care, medical attention, forensic examinations (gathering evidence in case you want to report what happened to the police), emergency contraception, STI testing and access to an Independent Sexual Assault Advisor (ISVA).You can refer yourself, and this service is completely separate to any decision you might make about reporting what happened to the police. If you do want to report a sexual assault to the police, or you’re thinking about it, the centre can support you with this. Find your nearest SARC. Below is a video about what you can expect when visiting a SARC.

The Mix

Here are some specialist services for survivors of sexual violence in the UK

We regularly update this list to make it as comprehensive as possible.

Rape Crisis England and Wales

Rape Crisis England and Wales is a specialist service for women and girls who’ve been raped or experienced any other form of sexual violence at any time. They currently have 45 member organisations, providing services in 56 locations across England and Wales.

Rape Crisis offer a range of support, advocacy, counselling and information, in women-only safe spaces. Some provide separate spaces and services for male sexual violence survivors, and/or for men supporting a survivor.

Freephone 0808 802 9999 from 12 noon-2:30pm and 7-9:30pm every day of the year.

Galop

Galop is a specialist support service for all LGBTQ+ people who have experienced sexual violence.

The organisation provides a free, confidential and independent service for all LGBTQ+ people who have experienced sexual assault, violence or abuse, however or whenever it happened.

Its service is open to adults and young people (from age 13+), including those who are questioning but not yet sure about their identity.

Call 020 7704 2040 (ask to speak to someone from the Sexual Violence Support Service) or email referrals@galop.org.uk

The Survivors Trust

The Survivors Trust (TST) is a UK-wide national umbrella agency for 130 specialist organisations. They support people affected by rape, sexual violence, and childhood sexual abuse throughout the UK and Ireland. Their website contains a list of Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) services, which provide advocacy and practical support services for survivors. They also have a list of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs).

Survivors UK

SurvivorsUK is a service for male survivors of sexual violation. They are inclusive, and welcome anyone who identifies as male, trans, non-binary, has identified as male in the past, or anyone who feels that the service is the right fit for them.

The Havens

The Havens are a network of three specialist sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) located across London. They are open 24/7. They work closely together to ensure the same level of service is provided wherever a victim/survivor of sexual assault presents.

They also have advice and support available for family and friends of people who have suffered sexual violence.

Victim Support

Victim Support’s services are confidential, free and available to anyone who is a survivor of rape or sexual assault. This could be now or in the past. They can help, regardless of whether you have told the police or anyone else about the attack.

Volunteers can visit you at home or somewhere else if you prefer, or you can visit a local office. You can also talk to them on the phone using the national Victim Support line.

Women Against Rape

Women Against Rape is based on self-help and provide support, legal information and advocacy. The organisation campaigns for justice and protection for all women and girls who have suffered sexual, domestic and/or racist violence. This includes asylum seekers.

If you would like to see a support centre or network added to the list, please contact us: hello@fumble.org.uk

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