I would like to report an incident immediately

You can call the Merseyside Police on 101, if you have just been attacked please dial 999. The line is staffed 24 hours a day by trained operators. You can request to talk to the Unity Team (a specialist sexual violence team) directly, but it might take longer to speak to them. The University Police Liaison Officer suggests you speak to the Operator who can best assess who is available at the time.

Alternatively you can contact Safe Place Merseyside the sexual assault referral centre 0151 295 3550 which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

When contacting Safe Place you will need to provide:

• your name (just a first name will do)
• your date of birth
• your Liverpool postcode
• your telephone number
• the date and time of the assault (this may be recent or have been some time in the past)
• some brief details about the assault

Safe place may also ask:

• do you think you might need emergency contraception?
• have you thought about PEPSE?
• do you want the police to be informed?
• would you like a forensic medical examination?

If you call Safe Place out of hours an operator will take your name and phone number only and will arrange for a crisis worker to call you back.

The police can take you to Safe Place or Safe Place will make arrangements for you to visit the centre. You can have a forensic medical examination and get medical help and emotional support.

To help get the best quality forensic evidence, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) recommends that you try not to eat, drink, smoke, wash, change your clothes, go to the toilet or clear up the area where the assault took place. If you have done any of these things, don’t worry – it is often still possible to get some forensic evidence, so this should not stop you reporting.

If you believe you were drugged, or your drink spiked, you can have urine or blood tests done to prove this, the sooner, the better as some drugs leave the system very quickly.

When you give your statement to the police, try not to leave anything out, however embarrassing or painful it may be. If you can’t remember something, it is okay to say so. Do not be afraid to tell the truth about things like how much you had to drink, or using recreational drugs, because if the truth comes out later it may harm the chances of prosecution. These things are not a concern, what matters is that you are OK.

Another option is to report anonymously. It can put the perpetrator on the police radar. They might not be arrested, but it can help make another reported case stronger.

If you are not sure what to do, you can go to Safe Place. They can talk you through the different options available to you. Safe Place can store forensic evidence for you for up to two years while you decide whether you want to report the assault to the police. Safe Place also provides medical and emotional help, which you can access without reporting to the police.