Know that no means no

Rape & Sexual assault poster 3

If somebody has committed a sexual act on you without your consent, they have committed a serious crime.

KNOW that if an incident has happened, it is not your fault, you are not to blame, and that there are people who will help and support you.

If you need urgent medical care or attention please call 999 and ask for an ambulance or get to your nearest Accident and Emergency or urgent care department. A list of Merseyside-based departments can be found here.

There is advice and support available 24 hours a day 365 days a year from Safe Place Merseyside.

Safe Place Merseyside is the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for the Merseyside area. They ensure strict confidentiality, offering a warm and comfortable for both males and females who have been sexually assaulted both recently, and at any time in the past, to go for professional and compassionate help.

They have a team of highly trained healthcare professionals who can offer you medical support as well as advice and guidance and can help collect evidence that can be used later, once you have decided what to do next.

You can visit their website here or contact them on 0151 295 3550

KNOW that you can report it to the police and they will listen…

Merseyside Police have a team of trained, specialist officers experienced in dealing with, and investigating sexual assaults.

The first thing that a police officer will do when they speak to you is check your welfare and find out if you need any medical help. They will then want to know some information about the incident and this will focus on four things:

• Who committed the offence? Was it a stranger or someone you’ve seen before?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
• What happened? It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember everything in great detail, anything you can recall will help the officer get an idea of the events leading up to the incident so that they can see how best to support you

These questions aren’t to make you feel uncomfortable or make you feel like you’re not believed but they will help the officer try and piece together what has happened.

KNOW what to do next…Rape Crisis have advice about what steps you can take to help try and catch the person who has committed this crime against you. You can take your time in deciding what you want to do next, and make sure you are supported in the best way to help you. Please remember that the more evidence that can be collected after the incident, the easier it will be to piece together what has happened. Their advice can be found here.