We understand that rape or sexual assault can be traumatic event. You may, or may not, want to report to the police and below you’ll find guidelines as to what to expect depending on the option you take.
Devon and Cornwall Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) can support you with whatever option you choose, and help and advice is available through our 24-hour information line: 0300 303 4626
I want to report to the police
Call 101 or 999. A specially trained officer will speak to you about what has happened and will arrange for an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) to support and guide you through the prosecution process. Sexual assault is traumatic and it can sometimes take a while until you feel able to talk about it. Even if the assault happened a long time ago, you can still report it.
I don’t want to report to the police
If you need help immediately, you can call us on 0300 3034626.
If not please fill out the call back form below and we will call you back in office hours. This service is completely confidential.
One of our specially trained staff will talk to you about what to do next and how we can help. You can also access counselling, support and guidance from Rape Crisis if you are female or Safeline if you are male.
How we can help
Devon & Cornwall Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) offer medical, practical and emotional support following a rape or sexual assault.
- Our friendly staff can explain what to do next and offer you support and guidance.
- We can provide you with emergency contraception.
- We can arrange for a sexual health check up.
- We can arrange for an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) to support you with the police investigation.
- We can also provide emotional support including counselling.
Why is 10 days important?
To collect forensic evidence, which may contain DNA, 10 days is usually the longest time that the evidence can reliably survive.
If you want to report to the police – now or in the future – forensic evidence which may contain DNA can be crucial in supporting rape cases and helping the police to prove what has happened.
After this time, we can still help you with sexual health care, counselling, advice and support but we can no longer gather forensic evidence.