If you have experienced sexual misconduct, it is never your fault. Support is available to you – you are not alone.
Not sure what sexual misconduct is? Click here to find out.
On this page we have signposted to relevant support services and information.
- Which services can I go to for support?
- What support can I get from my university?
- I want to report what happened
Which services can I go to for support?
You can contact any of these helplines to seek support.
Sometimes you won’t get through straight away, so please leave a message and they will get back to you. It is good to say when it will be safe for them to contact you.
If you are in immediate danger, you can call the police on 999 at any time. If you are not able to speak, the operator can transfer you to the ‘silent solution’ where you will be prompted to press ‘55’ to indicate you need help.
National Sexual Violence Helpline
- 0808 802 9999
- Available 12-2.30pm and 7-9.30pm every day of the year operated by Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC).
- 0808 801 0860
- Survivors Gateway signpost you to specialist services in London that provide support to anyone who has been affected by any form of sexual violence at any time in their life.
- Free helpline: 08088 010818
- The Survivors Trust is an umbrella organisation for specialist rape and sexual abuse support services.
Find your local rape and sexual assault referral centre (SARC)
- SARCs are specialist medical and forensic services for anyone who has been raped or sexually assaulted.
Find your local sexual violence service: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/find-a-rape-crisis-centre/
Rape Crisis provides information, help and support after sexual abuse, rape and all forms of sexual violence.
- Helpline, any day between 6pm and midnight
- Call 08088 01 03 02
- Text 07537 410 027
Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre North Wales
- Call the Live Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800 for support around domestic abuse and sexual violence. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Free information and support line, available Monday & Thursday 6-8pm 0800 0246 991
- See their useful links for other sexual violence support services in Northern Ireland.
National Domestic Violence Helpline
- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- 0808 2000 247
- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Samaritans provide emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
- Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
NHS urgent mental health helplines
- You can find your local number on the hyperlinked page. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The National Stalking Helpline
- 0808 802 0300
- Available 9.30am-4pm weekdays (except Wednesdays, 9.30am-8.00pm)
- Rights of Women provide free employment legal advice to women in England and Wales experiencing sexual harassment at work.
- Available Mon, Tues and Wednesdays 3-5pm and 6-8pm. Closed on bank bank holidays
- 020 7490 0152
- National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 99 5428
- Available Mon, Tues & Fri 10am-5pm, Wed & Thurs 10am-8pm, plus webchat service Wednesday and Thursday 5pm – 8pm
- LGBT+ Hate Crime Helpline 0207 7042040
- Available Monday to Friday 10am-4pm
- 0808 801 0327
- Confidential helpline for all men experiencing domestic violence by a current or ex-partner. This includes all men – in heterosexual or same-sex relationships.
Please see Imkaan’s directory for contact information for organisations that provide support for Black and minoritised women and girls, and migrant women or women with insecure immigration statuses experiencing violence and abuse.
The Breathing Space app, made by AVA, has support and self-care resources for survivors. https://www.breathingspace-ava.org.uk/
What support can I get from my university?
Students should be able to access support from your university via your student support or wellbeing service, relevant university policies, your university website, or by approaching a trusted member of staff to help you find support. Some universities have partnerships with local agencies, like Rape Crisis centres, that you may be referred to.
Remember that you do not need to formally report what happened to you to access support. Telling someone what happened to you is known as a disclosure.
Staff should refer to the relevant university or employment policy, such as their contracts, for information on how to report experiences of sexual misconduct to their employer.
Guidance on sexual harassment in the work place from the EHRC can be found here.
I want to report what happened
Formal reporting means going through an official, standardised route (i.e. the university system or the police) and reporting what happened to you this way. You may be able to make an anonymous report if you prefer. If this is not done anonymously, formal reporting will often result in an investigatory and disciplinary process.
Disclosing your experience of sexual misconduct means telling someone what happened to you. This is informal (i.e. you have not gone through formal routes – university procedures, police) and can include anonymous disclosures. Disclosures do not automatically lead to an investigation or disciplinary processes.
We know that reporting what has happened to you is hard and can be intimidating. If you are thinking about reporting what happened to you, remember to be gentle with yourself, and that you do deserve support that meets your needs.
Your university may have an online report and support tool which can usually be found through a generic google search. Try ‘reporting sexual harassment at [insert your university]’, or searching for their sexual misconduct policy online. Remember that your university might use different language like ‘assault’, ‘harassment’, ‘bullying’, ‘violence’, ‘misconduct’, ‘complaints’, ‘disclosures’.
The names of policies and relevant tools, such as report and support tools, may be under different names at each different institution. You can also approach your student support or wellbeing service or a trusted member of staff for information.
You can call the police on 101 for non-emergency support, like making a report.
Learn more about university reporting processes and investigations. Learn more about these processes for staff.