Resources
Resources for Survivors, Friends & Family,
If you have been sexually assaulted, we believe you and you are not alone. There is support available to you and many options for where to get it. The resources below provide immediate and long-term support, as well as information about alternatives to reporting, and what to look for if you choose to report your assault.
If you are in immediate danger, or need medical attention, call 911 now.
If you’re in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, help is available:
Suicide + Crisis Lifeline
Call or Text 988
Mental Health Match
Find licensed therapists near you
NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT TELEPHONE HOTLINE: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
Through this hotline, you can access:
- Confidential support from a trained support specialist
- Someone to help you talk through your experience
- Resources that can assist with your next steps toward healing and recovery
- Referrals for long term support in your area
- Information about the laws and resources in your community
Learn About Your Reporting Options
What to Expect: Those Who Choose to Report After Experiencing Sexual Violence – A Healing Toolkit from #MeToo
Just as everyone’s experience with sexual violence is different, the ways in which survivors process and take steps toward healing can also vary greatly. One major decision point that survivors might struggle with is deciding if they want to report their experience with sexual violence through institutional pathways. This might include steps like getting a rape kit done at the hospital, filing a police report, and/or legal proceedings. Whatever is decided, that choice should be made by the survivor, and the survivor only. There is no “correct” pathway to healing, and justice looks different to different people. If you are a survivor struggling over whether or not to report, know that whatever you decide is valid. If you are supporting someone struggling with this decision, be sure not to pressure them in either direction and affirm wherever they land.
Start By Believing: Explore Your Options
Explore Your Options is a resource site from End Violence Against Women International’s Start By Believing campaign, gathering information to help make decisions about your next steps. The site also provides information for support people on how to respond in a helpful way to sexual assault survivors.
This program offers standardized, victim-centric options to anyone considering reporting sexual violence to law enforcement. They also certify law enforcement agencies to ensure the sexual assault reporting process is carried out with respect, privacy and without pressure through its entirety. Use this directory to find the YHOP-certified agency near you.
Survivor’s Sanctuary
Created by the #MeToo Movement, Survivor’s Sanctuary is a self-guided healing platform intended to aid survivors in their healing journeys. You are invited to explore your healing through our three healing approaches: mind, body, and integrative. You are invited to explore healing lessons from each approach in 5-minute, 15-minute and 25- minute suggested time increments. You choose your own approach and you choose the experiences you want to engage in. No matter where you go on the site, you will find something that meets your unique needs as a survivor. Click here to access the Survivor’s Sanctuary.
Who Do I Tell? How Do I Tell? Toolkit
For individuals who have experienced sexual assault, or know someone who has experienced sexual assault, this toolkit provides question prompts and tips for deciding who to disclose to, and how. Click here to access the toolkit, created by the #MeToo Movement.
Rise’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights
https://risenow.us/impact/sexual-assault-survivors-bill-of-rights/
In many states, convicted rapists have more rights than sexual assault survivors. Rise’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights ensures that justice does not depend on geography – and that every survivor is equally protected under the law.
Transform Harm
TransformHarm.org is a resource hub for ending violence. The site offers an introduction to transformative justice. Created by Mariame Kaba and designed by Lu Design Studio, the site includes selected articles, audio-visual resources, curricula, and more.
Created by Equal Rights Advocates, this Student Survivor Toolkit is a comprehensive guide that has resources for the Title IX process, survivor-centered self-care practices, advice for Muslim and LGBTQ+ survivors, and more. Click here to access the toolkit.
End Rape on Campus
End Rape on Campus (EROC) works to end campus sexual violence through direct support for survivors and their communities; prevention through education; and policy reform at the campus, local, state, and federal levels.
- Student Survivors’ Rights and Resources
- Direct Support for Survivors
- “Centering the Margins” Resources for Marginalized Survivors
- Zoom University: A Self-Care Survivors Series
Callisto is a sexual assault reporting system for college students, built to empower survivors of sexual assault, rebuild their sense of agency, prioritize privacy, and facilitate coordinated and informed action.
I Have the Right To
https://www.ihavetherightto.org
For parents and survivors: This organization started as a social media campaign using the hashtag #IHaveTheRightTo to bring safety and respect to all cultures. As an organization, it promises to be a safe place where survivors and families of survivors can come to find support, belief, advocacy, and community.
Raliance
A collaborative initiative dedicated to ending sexual violence in one generation, Raliance strongly believes that sport is a critical partner in preventing sexual and domestic violence, both on and off the field. Learn more about strategies and programs to support your sport community to prevent sexual and domestic violence at the Sport and Prevention Center: http://www.raliance.org/sport-prevention-center.
SafeBAE
SafeBAE is a survivor founded, teen led organization that educates middle- and high-school students about healthy relationships, dating violence and sexual assault prevention, affirmative consent, safe bystander intervention, survivor self-care and survivor rights under Title IX.
Set The Expectation
https://www.settheexpectation.com
For safer athletic communities: This organization (which uses the hashtag #SetTheExpectation) is dedicated to combating sexual and physical violence through education and direct engagement with coaches, young men and boys in high school and college athletic programs.
Know Your IX
A project of Advocates for Youth, Know Your IX is a survivor- and youth-led initiative that empowers students to end sexual and dating violence in their schools.
End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI)
Building on lessons featured in the film, our partner at EVAWI published the training bulletin Raped, Then Jailed: The Risks of Prosecution for Falsely Reporting Sexual Assault. This document explores fundamental differences between victim and suspect interviews, including constitutional protections that are afforded to suspects in the US legal system, which are frequently not extended to victims once they are viewed as suspects.
AEquitas is a nonprofit organization focused on developing, evaluating, and refining prosecution practices related to gender-based violence and human trafficking. We’re a team of former prosecutors with decades of experience, working globally to hold offenders accountable and promote victim safety.
Sexual Assault Reponse Team (SART) Toolkit from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Sexual assault response teams (SARTs) are multidisciplinary, interagency teams that promote collaboration to support victims of sexual assault and hold offenders accountable. The SART Toolkit is designed to support SARTs in all aspects of their work, including practical tips for effective teamwork, ideas for expansion, tools for identifying what is most important in each community, best practices, and connections to technical assistance providers to guide development and improvement.
International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching
IARTC works to help survivors of trauma recover and build a life they love to live — through certifying trauma recovery coaches, providing support for survivors, and offering training to anyone who wants to be trauma informed.
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence: Where We Stand on Naming Victims in the Media
https://endsexualviolence.org/where_we_stand/naming-victims-in-the-media/
This post from the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence includes several relevant points for journalists reporting on individuals who have been charged with the crime of false reporting.
Know Your IX: Guide for Journalists
https://knowyourix.org/press-room/guide-for-journalists/
A guide for reporters and editors who are covering gender-based violence, particularly on college campuses.
“Reporting on Rape and Sexual Violence: A Media Toolkit for Local and National Journalists to Better Media Coverage” by the Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls and Young Women
http://www.chitaskforce.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Chicago-Taskforce-Media-Toolkit.pdf
This extensive resource provides detailed guidance and research on best reporting practices around rape and sexual violence.
Know Your IX: Friends and Family
https://knowyourix.org/for-friends-and-fami/
This guide includes tips and resources for family members, friends, teachers and professors.
Guidance for Supporting Survivors in Your Life
https://supportmore.msu.edu/supportive-language
The Michigan State University Culture of Support website provides concrete guidance for talking with survivors in your life.
Joyful Heart Foundation: Six Steps to Support a Survivor
The Joyful Heart Foundation provides clear guidelines for supporting survivors in a way that advances their healing and protects your mental health.