Any form of sexual misconduct, assault or harassment is never okay. 

If you think you have been the target of any form of sexual misconduct, including harassment, assault, or violence, it may be hard to know what to do or how to feel.

No matter where you were or what you were doing, wearing, or saying, whether you were intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, you are not to blame.

Where to start

Are you in immediate danger? 
  • If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured, you can contact the emergency services on 999 (or 112 from a mobile phone).
  • If you are on Campus you can also contact Campus Security Services - by dialing 333 from any internal telephone, 01792513333 on a mobile or by using our SafeZone app.

If you are not in immediate danger
  • Find a safe space -  If an incident has just happened, try and find somewhere you feel safe. 
  • Tell yourself - Sometimes the first person victims need to disclose to is themselves. Too often victims can internalize messages that it wasn’t “so bad” or was somehow their fault.
  • Try talking to someone - Consider asking a friend or someone you trust to be with you.
  • Seek medical care - Even if there are no obvious injuries or you don’t want to report the assault to the police, it is important to seek medical attention if the assault just happened. We can help you with that by directing you to the local Sexual Assault Response Centre (SARC).

What to do next 
  • Report - Students can report an incident using the University’s Report and Support tool. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can tell us what happened and request support from a Sexual Violence Liaison Officer (SVLO). 
*Please note, by using the report and support tool, this does not constitute a formal complaint to the University about any other individual. Your SVLO will be able to discuss this with you in more detail.

Other things to consider 

Evidence

Although it may be discomforting to do so if you have experienced sexual assault it is really important that you preserve any evidence which may help the police in the inquiries.  

To preserve evidence until the police have arrived try not to: 
  • Use the toilet or discard underwear or sanitary products
  • Wash, shower, bathe or shave
  • Wash your hands
  • Remove, wash, discard or destroy clothing worn or bedding and towels used at the time of the incident or after it
  • Drink or eat anything, including non-essential medication
  • Clean your teeth
  • Smoke
  • Disturb the scene or allow other people or animals to enter the area where the incident took place, where possible.
Non-physical evidence, such as relevant texts, social media messages, and emails should be preserved.
 
Medication and drugs
  • if you think you have been given any type of drug, it is best to be tested within 24 hours
  • if you need emergency contraception, the medication should be started within 72 hours
  • if you would like HIV prevention drugs, the medication should be started within 36 hours


Back

There are two ways you can tell us what happened

Tell us anonymously or Tell us what happened