You are likely to have many fears and concerns following a sexual assault. Some will revolve around what to do regarding the attacker and others about your own safety and welfare.
You may have concerns about unwanted pregnancy or infections. Alternatively you may have fears around what will happen if you report the attack.
Helen Britton House will help you to work through all available options. With access to services to meet all of your needs we are here to support you with any route you may take. Here are the most common options available:
1. If you want to report to the Police
Following the report of a sexual offence to the Police the Police will automatically bring you to Helen Britton House. This is standard procedure and is to make sure that you receive support in an anonymous environment.
Alternatively you may wish to contact Helen Britton House directly yourself and we can contact the Police on your behalf. Either way a medical examination can be arranged (again this is your choice) and your complaint will be heard by a specially trained Police Officer.
2. If you are not sure what to do
Staff at Helen Britton House can help you to decide. They can explain the options available to you and support you whatever you decide you want to do. We understand that reporting to the Police can be a difficult decision to make.
Staff at Helen Britton House are trained so that they can take early evidence from you (with your permission) and store this evidence on your behalf. This gives you extra time to make this difficult decision without the risk of losing valuable evidence should you chose to go ahead
3. If you don’t want to report
If you are certain that you do not wish to report the attack to the Police Helen Britton House can still provide you with help & support. You have experienced a traumatic event and may need emotional support to come to terms with what has happened to you.
You may need medical treatment or want to put your mind at rest by making sure that you have not been given an STI, you may also require emergency contraception.
Staff at Helen Britton House can respond to your immediate needs whist you make your decision about what, if anything you want to do next.
Another option that Helen Britton House can offer is for you to provide forensic evidence if you want the police to be able to catch this person should they re-offend, even if you don’t feel able to report the person yourself.
In other words you may want to submit information anonymously for intelligence purposes (to help Police without being identified). We can assist you to do this.
