Rape crisis and sexual abuse centres can help in a range of ways. Each operates independently and the specific services may vary. Our centres are all run for women by women.

Survivors

We are here to offer free confidential support and information to women and girls who have been raped or sexually abused at any time in their lives. We can be contacted by telephone (most centres also have a textphone service) or letter and some centres can be contacted by email.

Contact details for your nearest centre are on the ‘local rape crisis and sexual abuse centres’ page of this website.

Have a look at our page offering ‘information about rape and sexual abuse’ to learn a little about the ways women and girls may be affected. There is no one right way to feel or react and not all women will want to talk about what has happened. The most important thing is to trust your feelings. However, our experience is that many women and girls find that, even if it is painful to talk, it can help the healing process and it is often useful to have information to help you decide how to deal with various decisions you may be facing.

We work to empower women – to help you find and make choices in your life. We will never make judgements about you or ways that you have coped and we won’t tell you what to do. We believe you are the expert in your life.

If you are worried about whether or not to report to the police, whether immediately or even after many years, we can provide you with information and talk about how you are feeling. It is totally your decision and we will support you in whatever you feel is right for you.”

All centres operate a telephone helpline as well as offering support sessions. You can use the helpline for ongoing support and some centres can offer this by post or email. The number of support sessions we can offer may vary from centre to centre and depending on resources there may be a waiting list for longer term support. We may be able to reimburse reasonable costs for travel and childcare.

We are working towards ensuring that all our services are accessible to all women and girls, including women from black and ethnic minority communities, lesbians and disabled women. Leaflets in some community languages are available from nearly all our centres. This site has some information about the Rape Crisis Centre in Glasgow in Cantonese, Urdu and Punjabi. (In pdf format) Links are on the homepage.

Our centres run occasional groups for survivors and can provide a range of information, including leaflets, a resource library and information about legal and medical issues arising from rape or sexual abuse.

If you would like support when attending a clinic, hospital, police station or court, a support worker may be able to accompany you. We can also give you information about what will happen and about other agencies and their procedures and services, including claiming criminal injuries compensation.