What To Do If You Are Sexually Assaulted or Raped
Take steps right away if you’ve been sexually assaulted.
- Find a safe environment - anywhere away from the attacker. Ask a trusted friend to stay with you for moral support.
- Know that what happened was not your fault and that now you should do what is best for you.
- Get medical attention. Even with no physical injuries or if you know you will never report the attack to law enforcement, it is important to determine the risks of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
- Do not wash, comb, or clean any part of your body. Do not change clothes if possible, so the hospital staff can collect evidence. Do not touch or change anything at the scene of the assault.
- To preserve forensic evidence, ask the hospital to conduct a rape kit exam. A doctor or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner will collect evidence using a rape kit for fibers, hairs, saliva, semen, or clothing that the attacker may have left behind.
- The medical evidence collected in a rape kit exam can be held anonymously. In Montana, a rape survivior has 60 days to decide whether to report the crime, after which time the rape kit evidence is destroyed.
- If you suspect you may have been drugged, ask that a urine sample be collected. The sample will need to be analyzed later on by a forensic lab.
- Write down all the details you can recall about the attack & the attacker.
- Report the attack to police by calling 911.
- Call our helpline at 425-2222 if you live in Carbon County or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
- Recognize that healing from rape takes time. Give yourself the time you need.
- Know that it's never too late to call. Even if the attack happened years ago, the National Sexual Assault Hotline or the Carbon County Helpline can still help. Many survivors do not realize they need help until months or years later.
adapted from US Department of Health & Human Services
and from RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network)
