What to do if you have been raped

What to do if you have been raped

According to the law, rape is only penetration member in the vagina. But victims have the right to contact the police in case of any violation of their own sexual integrity. Just will be called it is violent acts of a sexual nature, which is punished just as severely. Feel free to ask for help.

Men can also experience violence, but statistically this happens less frequently. Therefore, basically the article is written about women. However, most of the tips apply to any gender.

1. Find a safe place

First of all, make sure you are safe. If you are in an apartment, then lock the door, and if on the street, get out to a crowded place. If it is not safe for you to be in your own home, leave it, regardless of whether you managed to take personal items or not.

No matter how much you want to, don't wash your hands, don't brush your teeth, don't take a bath or shower, don't even dry yourself with tissues or rinse your mouth. The more traces of the aggressor left on you, the more likely it is that he will be punished. If possible, put your clothes in clean paper or new plastic bags, or a box if you have something to change into. Also pack (if any) napkins, bedding,

condom and any other things that may have traces of the aggressor.

If the rape happened in the apartment, do not try to clean anything, leave everything as it is. This will help the investigation.

2. Assess your physical condition

You need to understand how urgently you need medical help. If you have injuries that pose a threat to life and health:

• ask those who are nearby to call an ambulance;
• call her yourself at 112 or 103;
• get to the emergency room yourself, provided that your condition allows it.

If there is no threat to life and health and you have decided to report to the police, try not to go to the hospital before passing a medical examination. Law enforcement officers are sent to him after registration of the appeal.

3. Enlist help

Ideally, it is better to contact the police with a lawyer, but in a critical situation, looking for one on your own is an unrealistic task. Therefore, enlist the support of any loved one who:

• if necessary, bring a change of clothes;
• will be nearby during communication with the investigator;
• will help to cope with all organizational issues, for example, they will take you to a forensic medical examination, and then home.

You can contact relatives friends, neighbors, and if there are none, to attract the attention of strangers. It will be more difficult to cope with everything alone, so please seek help.

4. File a police report

You can call the police or go to the police station yourself.

If you decide to call the police

Call the emergency number 112. All conversations are recorded, so even this will be an important evidence of what happened.

If it seems to you that the police have not been coming for a long time, call:

• again by number 112;
• to the hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs by phone 8 (800) 222‑74‑47;
• to the police station in your area;
• duty prosecutor for your area.

Before signing the explanation, check whether everything is correctly recorded by the police officer. You have the right not to sign it and request corrections.

Write down the data of the arrived police officers: full name, position, office phones.

When making a statement at the scene of a crime, police officers themselves register the statements in the Crime Reporting Book (CFR) upon their return to the department. The number of registration in KUSP can be found by calling the department on duty.

If you decide to go to the branch yourself

You can come to the branch yourself.

If your application is not accepted

In the police They have no right to refuse to accept the application or persuade you not to submit it. This is a violation of the law. If this happens:

1. Politely tell the employee that you need to appeal their actions.
2. Contact the head of the department.
3. Call the prosecutor's office or the hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at 8 (800) 222‑74‑47.

It is best to have someone nearby who will enforce rights for you. If you do not feel safe, it is better not to look for the boss or call higher authorities in the presence of a police officer.

5. Pass a medical examination

After the police officer has accepted the application, he gives the coupon and a referral for examination. There will be two of them: forensic and obstetric-gynecological.

The expert must examine the clothing and body for damage and take samples of materials that will help prove the guilt of the aggressor. This is an unpleasant procedure, but, unfortunately, without it it will be difficult to achieve punishment. Therefore, it is better to have a person nearby to whom you trust.

If you were sent to a regular gynecologist, not a medical examiner

Sometimes they are sent to an obstetrician-gynecologist for examination. In this case, you need to pay attention to the doctor describing everything in the map in as much detail as possible.

How to reduce negative consequences for yourself

In addition to the physical and psychological trauma from the violence committed, there may be other consequences. Fortunately, they can be prevented or reduced.

Take emergency contraception

Pills emergency contraception drink within 120 hours after intercourse. They can be bought at the pharmacy without a prescription. The sooner you drink them, the better. Contrary to myths, they do not cause infertility, miscarriage and hormonal failure, but they help to avoid pregnancy.

Contact the AIDS Center for Prevention

Take medicines within 72 hours to prevent HIV infection. You can get them and find out the regimen of admission at the AIDS Center. After that, you will still be asked to take an HIV test in a few weeks. This is necessary in case the prevention suddenly does not work. But usually after the drugs, infection does not occur.

Seek psychological help

If the support of a close environment is not enough or you are embarrassed or do not find the strength to ask for it, you can contact a specialist. Is it a psychologist or psychotherapistwho have experience working with survivors of sexualized violence.

To receive free informational, emotional and professional psychological help and support, you can contact the Sisters Center:

• by calling the helpline - 8 (499) 901-02-01 (Moscow telephone);
• by writing to the crisis email — online@sisters‑help.ru.

Get tested for STDs and pregnancy

Analyzes for infectionssexually transmitted, and it makes no sense to do a pregnancy test right away. For a while they will be negative. Wait:

• 1 week before testing for gonorrhea, chlamydial infection and trichomoniasis (if not taking prophylactic treatment);
• 2 weeks before pregnancy test;
• 4–6 weeks before testing for syphilis and HIV-infection;
• 3 months before testing for syphilis, hepatitis B, C, HIV infection.