HOW TO GET HELP WITHIN 96 HOURS OF THE ASSAULT:
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A) If there is a medical emergency & you have access to a phone:
- STEP 1: Go to a safe place & call 911 immediately!
- STEP 2: Explain to a 911 operator what has happened and request to be sent to an emergency department that is a specialized 24/7 SAFE Center of Excellence.
- STEP 3: Do not change clothes, bathe, douche, or brush your teeth.
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B) If you are NOT able to call 911 for any reason & there is NO medical emergency:
- STEP 1: Do not change clothes, bathe, douche, or brush your teeth.
- STEP 2: Go to a hospital that is a specialized 24/7 SAFE Center of Excellence.
Go to the nearest Emergency Department if:
- You are not able to call 911.
- There is a medical emergency.
- You cannot get to a SAFE center.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
- Always call 911 first! 911 operators and ambulance drivers know where all the SAFE centers are located and should offer to take you to one. If they do not offer, you need to tell them to take you to a SAFE center.
- You do not have to place a report with the police or press charges. But if you want to have the option for the future, it is best for evidence collection to take place within 96 hours (4 days) of the rape.
- At the SAFE center you will receive a physical examination, injury treatment, evidence collection, and/or counseling. You will not be made to do anything you do not want to do & may decline any part of the examination.
- Even if you don’t have any physical injuries that you can see, there may be some that you cannot see, and health centers can provide additional services such as testing for sexually transmitted diseases and giving you medicine that can help prevent pregnancy.
- Acute (urgent) care is the immediate care you can receive within 96 hours (4 days) of the assault. This type of care includes treating physical injuries and speaking with a rape-crisis advocate who can refer you to more help in your neighborhood.
- Non-acute (non-urgent) care is the non-immediate care you can receive after 96 hours (4 days) of when the assault took place. This type of care can be received within weeks or even years after the assault has taken place. It includes short and/or long-term counseling, and/or going to a doctor or a clinic for tests (such as pregnancy, HIV, etc.) .
