Sexual assault support

Rape crisis centres

Community centres run by people who do this work every day. Free, confidential, and separate from police.

• 24 hour crisis lines, in person or phone counselling, and support groups, usually with no referral and no wait for the crisis line.
• Accompaniment: someone who goes with you to the hospital, the police station, or court and stays with you.
• Help understanding your options before you choose any of them, including what a report would actually involve.
• Support for family and partners too, if you want someone in your life to understand what you need.
• Use the province search below to find the centre nearest you, or call the national line and ask them to connect you.

Sexual Assault Response Centres (SARCs)

Hospital based teams that handle medical care, evidence, and support in one visit so you are not repeating yourself all over town.

• Go to the emergency department and say you are there for sexual assault care. Ask for the SARC team or the forensic nurse.
• You choose what happens: medical care only, evidence collection only, both, or neither. Any piece can be declined.
• Care usually includes injury treatment, pregnancy prevention, testing and preventive medication for HIV and other infections.
• Most centres can store a completed kit for a period of time while you decide about reporting. Ask how long they hold it.
• Your visit is confidential. Reporting to police is a separate decision that you make, not the hospital.

Forensic nursing

Sexual assault nurse examiners are specially trained. The exam is done at your pace, with your consent for every step.

• You can stop, pause, or skip any part of the exam at any point, and you never owe an explanation.
• Evidence collection is most useful within a few days, and in many places up to twelve days. Even outside that window, medical care and documentation still matter.
• The nurse documents injuries and can photograph them if you agree. Those notes can support a report later if you want one.
• Ask about a third party or anonymous report option, where the nurse shares information with police without your name attached.
• If your area has no SARC, ask the hospital which nearby site has a forensic nurse on call. They can arrange transport.

Reporting is your choice

You never have to report to get help. Counselling, medical care, and crisis support are not conditional on it.

• There is no time limit for reporting a sexual assault to police in Canada. Old does not mean too late.
• Options include a full police report, a third party or anonymous report through a crisis centre or nurse, an information only conversation with police, or no report at all.
• You can ask for a female officer, a support person in the room, and an advocate from a crisis centre with you.
• You can start a report and change your mind. You are allowed to stop.
• A civil claim is also possible, separate from criminal charges. Provincial legal aid and crisis centre legal advocates can explain it.
• Victim services can help with counselling costs, court accompaniment, and criminal injuries compensation whether or not charges are laid.
• If it happened at work or school, there are internal complaint processes too, and you can use them without going to police.

In the days after

• Write down what you remember when you feel able, including dates and names. The Incident Log in this app keeps it private and dated.
• Ask about follow up testing and medication timing before you leave the hospital, and put the dates in your phone.
• Trauma symptoms are normal and treatable. Ask a crisis centre for a counsellor who specializes in sexual violence.
• If the person is your partner, the safety planning tools in this app apply here too, including leaving safely.