Reach out to friends, family, or help centers to create a system of emotional support for the coming steps.
Text, call, or meet up in person with trusted friends and family members one on one to ask for emotional support during your search for justice.
If you don’t feel comfortable sharing what happened to you with any friends or family members, know that RAINN and other advocates are available and ready to hear you out, confidentially.
RAINN is the national sexual assault hotline. The mission of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) is to carry out programs to prevent sexual violence, help victims, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. It is 100% free, confidential, and trusted by many.
Reaching out to RAINN can look like:
A phone call to 1-800-656-4673
Online chat via their website, RAINN.org
Know that the person you are speaking to is an advocate. They are here for you, ready to listen and help, free of judgment or prejudice.
RAINN, mentioned in the previous step, should be able to help you find a local help center in which you can go in person to share what happened to you and seek help.
Reaching out to a local help center is one way to go in seeking justice as they can help provide you with an in-person advocate who will go with you or for you to the police with your story.
Again, know that the person you are speaking to is an advocate. They
are here for you, ready to listen and help, free of judgment or prejudice.
Related texts, voicemails, emails, social media posts, first name, last name, address or location where it took place, anything helps.
Save all documents together in one file or folder that you can easily transfer to the police or trusted officials.
Create a Word/Pages document that details what the evidence is.
This is generally the step that is the hardest. No one likes speaking to the police, it can be scary, especially with this. Here is where having that advocate with you can make all the difference.
Your in-person advocate should go with you or for you to the police with your story.
Your local police will then be able to tell you the next specific steps based on the crime.