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Important Steps After a Sexual Assault
If you have been sexually assaulted, please know this was not your fault, and you do not have to navigate this alone. If you choose to seek medical care or preserve evidence for the future, here are important steps to take as soon as possible:
- Seek Medical Care Immediately: Go to a hospital emergency room to be evaluated for internal injuries, receive emergency contraception, and get preventative medication for STIs.
- Preserve Forensic Evidence: If you think you might want to report the assault to law enforcement now or in the future, try to preserve evidence. If possible, avoid showering, bathing, brushing your teeth, or changing your clothes until you have been examined.
- Save Your Clothing: If you have already changed, place the clothes you were wearing during the assault in a paper bag (plastic bags trap moisture and can destroy DNA evidence). Do not wash them.
- Get a Forensic Exam (SANE Exam): You can request a free Forensic Medical Exam performed by a specialized Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). You have up to 96 hours (4 days) after an assault to have an exam completed, and you can receive medical care without being forced to file a police report.
You are in control: You have the right to refuse any part of a medical exam or legal process. Your healing and choices come first.