Most dates end without incident, but sexual assault can happen at any stage of meeting someone through a dating app. This article summarises NHS guidance on getting help after rape or sexual assault and the description of the 24/7 Support Line run by Rape Crisis England & Wales. It is general information. The NHS page and the Rape Crisis service are written for England and Wales, and arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered here. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999.
The first points the NHS makes
The NHS says that anyone who has been sexually assaulted should remember that it was not their fault, that sexual violence is a crime no matter who commits it or where it happens, and that there is no need to be afraid to get help. It also says the assault does not have to be reported to the police, and that a person may need time to think. It advises getting medical help for any injuries and because of the risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. If the person wants the crime investigated, the NHS says it is best to have a forensic medical examination as soon as possible, and to try not to wash or change clothes immediately, although a report can still be made if they have.
Where to get help
The NHS names sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) as offering medical, practical and emotional support to anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused, with specially trained doctors, nurses and support workers. Other places it lists include:
- a GP or practice nurse;
- a voluntary organisation such as Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, Victim Support, The Survivors Trust or Male Survivors Partnership;
- the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247;
- the Rape Crisis England and Wales rape and sexual abuse support line, on 0808 500 2222, or its online chat, both free and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year;
- a hospital A&E department, a sexual health or genitourinary medicine clinic, a contraceptive clinic or a young people’s service;
- NHS 111, or 111 online;
- the police, on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
What a sexual assault referral centre offers
According to the NHS, SARCs are available to everyone regardless of gender, age, the type of incident or when it happened. Services include crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and emergency contraception, and the centre can arrange an independent sexual violence advisor and referrals to mental health and sexual violence support services. It says the centre can arrange for a person considering reporting to speak to a specially trained police officer who can explain the next steps. Forensic medical examinations can be arranged even if the person has not decided whether to report. It also says that using a self-swab kit is not recommended, because it could affect the ability to get a DNA sample for evidence.
The NHS explains that having an examination is the person’s choice, that they can choose to have some parts and not others, can ask for a male or female examiner and can choose who is in the room. Samples can include swabs, urine, blood and occasionally hair, and clothing may be retained, in which case new clothes are provided. If the police have not been involved, evidence collected is stored at the centre, giving time to decide, and in some SARCs samples can be processed without identifying the person. If the assault was more than seven days ago, it is still worth asking a SARC or the police for advice about an examination.
If a drink may have been spiked
The NHS says that a person whose drink has been spiked or who has been injected with an unknown substance and thinks they have been sexually assaulted should go to their nearest SARC. It says help is also available from a GP surgery, A&E or a sexual health clinic. If a drink has been spiked and there has been no sexual assault, it says to call 111 for urgent medical advice about any worrying symptoms and to contact the police. This site’s guide to drink spiking and dating covers reporting in more detail.
Reporting to the police and confidentiality
If a person decides to report, the NHS says a specially trained police officer will help them understand each stage, the person will be offered a forensic medical examination and asked to make a statement, and the police will pass their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether a case goes to trial. On confidentiality, the NHS says details are kept as confidential as possible, but that if there is a police investigation or prosecution, related material is “disclosable” and may have to be produced in court.
The Rape Crisis support line
Rape Crisis England & Wales describes its 24/7 Support Line as a free phone and online chat service for anyone aged 16 or over in England and Wales who has been affected by rape, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment or any other form of sexual violence. It says trained specialists listen and believe, that callers do not need to have all the answers or even the words, and that it is not an emergency service. The number given is 0808 500 2222.
Reporting to the dating platform
Get Safe Online’s guidance on online dating advises that any assault should be reported to the police, and that romance fraud should also be reported to the dating site or app where the person was met. Related guidance on this site covers first-date safety and intimate images shared without consent.
The bottom line
NHS guidance says sexual assault is never the victim’s fault, that reporting to the police is a choice, and that medical help, a forensic examination and emotional support are available through sexual assault referral centres, GPs, sexual health services and organisations such as Rape Crisis, whose free support line runs 24 hours a day on 0808 500 2222. People can seek help without deciding whether to report, and evidence can be stored while they decide.