What To Do If You Face Sexual Violence
The most important things to remember are that you get to a safe place, get
help for any injuries you might need, and firmly believe that you are, by no
means, at fault. Here are some of the most important points to keep in mind
when you have faced sexual violence:
- Get to safety. Call on a trusted friend
or a trusted family member if you feel the need to have someone around you.
- If you feel comfortable reporting
the crime right away, notify the police right away, and report the crime with
all the details you can offer up.
- Record all the physical evidence
of the attack. Do not shower, bathe, douche your body, eat or drink, or brush
your teeth until you have had a medical examination.
- Take pictures of your injury, and make sure that your pictures are taken with your face visible in it. Take one picture with the injury and the face, and a second picture zooming in on the injury.
- Save the clothing you wore during
the attack – place each item into a separate paper bag (avoid plastic at all
cost).
- Get medical care right away if
you have injuries. Even if you don’t have any injuries that you can see, get a
medical examination done anyway, so that you can rule out any STDs or internal
injuries. Moreover, a medical examination report is a significant element in
the evidence.
- If you feel like you’ve been
given a drug or intoxicated by any external drug, offer up a urine sample for
testing. Most drugs are detectable in the urine more often than in the blood
stream.
- Make all the notes you can
possibly remember on the circumstances of the assault. Try to put down a
description of your assailant in as much detail as you can recollect. This can be a traumatic exercise, so make sure
that you do this in the company of someone who cares for and supports you.
- You could consider maintaining a picture/word journal with every instance when you were abused. So, if you have been called names, been hit, or faced any other form of abuse, make sure that everything is included in there with the date, and if possible, time of day. This way there is a record of each event.
- Talk to a counsellor or a
therapist who is trained to assist survivors of sexual violence. Counselling
can help you cope with the emotional and physical impact of the assault.
Use our safety plan guides to handle specific situations:
Child Safety: