What to do if you have been raped?
What can I do to help a friend or family member who has been raped?
Deciding to go to seek medical treatment:
Deciding to report to law enforcement:
Feelings you may experience after the rape
 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BEEN RAPED?

• Get to a safe place.  If you are in immediate danger, do anything you can to get away.
   
• Preserve evidence.  It may be very difficult for you not to bathe, shower, brush your teeth or go to the bathroom, but your body contains crucial evidence of the attack and the attacker.
   
• Seek medical attention.  You need to be checked for injuries, both external and internal; be tested for and offered treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV; and offered emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.
   
• Request a Rape Crisis counselor to meet you at the hospital.  The Rape Crisis counselor is able to answer your questions regarding the rape, review the choices you have in deciding on medical treatment, and wait with you while at the hospital to ensure that you receive the best medical treatment that you are entitled to after being several assaulted.
   
• Decide whether to press charges.  The Rape Crisis counselor will provide you with information you will need to navigate the legal process if you decide to make a police report.
   
• NYS Crime Victims Board provides reimbursement for eligible expenses you may have as a result of this crime.  A Rape Crisis counselor will assist you in completing the application for this reimbursement.
   
• Remember – It was not your fault.  It is never too late to get help.  Healing from rape takes time.  Seek help from supportive friends, family and Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier.

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WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP A FRIEND OR MEMBER WHO HAS BEEN RAPED?

• Listen.  Believe what your friend or loved one tells you.
   
• Encourage your friend or loved one to get medical attention immediately.  He or she needs to be checked for injuries, both external and internal; be tested and offered treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV; and offered emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.
   
• Tell your friend or loved one that help is available through Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier by calling 1-888-810-0093.  A counselor will provide support and inform her/him or her/his options regarding the medical treatment and reporting the rape to law enforcement.
   
• Be patient.  Let your friend or loved one know that it was not his or her fault. 
   
• Call Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier for information on how you can continue to be a support to your friend or loved one.

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DECIDING TO GO TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT

• If you decide to report the rape, you will be asked if you want forensic evidence will be collected from your body and clothes.  A rape kit is used to collect this evidence.  You decide if you want the evidence collected.
   
• Preserve as much evidence as possible, do not shower, bathe or go to the bathroom before going to the hospital emergency room.  Take extra clothes with you to wear home.
   
• You will be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.  You are offered treatment for these diseases.  You decide if you want these medications.
   
• A physician will check you for external and internal injuries.
   
• If you are female, you are offered emergency contraception.  You decide if you want the emergency contraception pills.
   
• A Rape Crisis Counselor/Advocate will be at the hospital to speak with you and any friends or family who go to the hospital with you. The counselor will go over your options with you, making sure that you are the one deciding what medical services you receive. 

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DECIDING TO REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

• There are two situations when law enforcement must be involved in a sexual violence case; 1) when a weapon was used  2) when a child was the victim of sexual abuse.
   
• If neither situation exists, then the decision to make a report and press charges is up to the individual who is a victim.
   
• Call Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier at 1-888-810-0093 and a counselor/advocate will go over the options and next steps for reporting to law enforcement.
   
• A Rape Crisis counselor/advocate is available to accompany you to law enforcement interviews and to court.

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FEELINGS YOU MAY EXPERIENCE AFTER THE RAPE

If you experience one or more of these feelings and have not spoken with a Rape Crisis counselor, call 1-888-810-0093 to speak to a counselor about your situation. 

• Alone:  “Am I the only one?”
   
• Set Apart:  “This only happens to bad people, right?”
   
• Hopeless:  “I can’t go on anymore.”
   
• Upset, Distressed:  “I cry all of the time.”
   
• Numb:  “I haven’t been able to cry.”
   
• Shocked:  “How could this happen to me?”
   
• Anxious, Nervous:  “I can’t eat or sleep.”
   
• Guilty:  “What did I do or say to bring this on?”
   
• Fearful:  “I don’t dare go out alone at night anymore.  When will I be able to sleep with the lights off?”
   
• Dirty:  “I just want to wash him/her off me.”
   
• Depressed:  “Nothing interests me anymore.”
   
• Helpless:  “I don’t feel confident making decisions.”
   
• Panicky:  “My heart races constantly.”
   
• Weak:  “He/She made me feel small inside.”
   
• Angry:  “I am so mad.  He/She took something from me and he/she had no right.”
   
• Vindictive:  “I want him/her to pay for what he/she did.”
   
• Ashamed:  “What if people find out?”
   
• Confused:  “Why did this happen to me?”

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