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We are here for you. You can call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our staff and volunteers offer free, confidential support to anyone in crisis.

Have you been raped? Are you experiencing abuse?

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE RAPED

If this is for a child (up to age 18), please click here.

Your safety is most important.

Are you able to get to a safe place?
This can mean different things for different people, whether it’s finding a place where you can go to seek help or leaving the place you’re currently in if possible. Once you’re able to, you can call the hotline for information about your options.

If you are seriously injured, go to the nearest hospital or call 911.

If you are not in immediate danger, you may choose to:

Report what happened

Not report what happened

Get a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE) at Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC)

Not get a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE) at Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC)

Whatever choice you make is absolutely valid.

If You Choose to Get a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE)

Forensic evidence collection is best collected immediately following an assault or within 72 hours of the assault.

1. We know that after a traumatic experience, you may want to shower or change clothes. If you can, please make sure NOT to shower, bathe, or wash your clothes before the Forensic Rape Exam.
2. If you’ve already showered, bathed, or washed your clothes, that’s okay, you’ll still be able to get a Forensic Rape Exam. If you want to change out of the clothes you were wearing, make sure to place your clothes in a paper bag (not a plastic one).
3. To get a Forensic Rape Exam, go to:
   
   Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC)
   300 E. Hunting Park Avenue
   Philadelphia, PA 19124
   Click here for directions
   
   Call 215-425-1625 to reach the On-Call Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.
   
   Don’t worry if you don’t have a ride. We will help you. Call WOAR’s hotline at 215-985-3333. We will call and pay for an Uber ride to and from PSARC. If you put your clothing in a paper bag, be sure to bring it with you. You can also call 911 if you prefer, but we recognize that doesn’t feel safe for some people in our community.

Once You Get to Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC)

You can get a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE) anonymously. You can also get a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE) without filing a police report.

1. A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) will conduct the Forensic Rape Exam (FRE). The nurse will collect evidence, assess your health, provide first aid, treat any injuries, and provide medication. In many situations, a WOAR Crisis Advocate may provide in-person support at PSARC. If this cannot be arranged, a WOAR Crisis Advocate will follow up with you by phone.
2. If you want to file a police report, you can meet with a Special Victims Unit (SVU) detective while you are at PSARC.

Support While at PSARC

If a WOAR Crisis Advocate is not available to provide in-person support, please call the hotline at 215-985-3333 to be connected to a Crisis Advocate (9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday) or a Sexual Assault Volunteer Counselor (5pm – 9am, Monday – Friday, and 24 hours on weekends). The caring people at WOAR can stay on the phone with you during the whole process.

If you choose not to call the hotline, a WOAR Crisis Advocate will follow up with you via phone within one week. For phone follow-up, please give the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) permission to share your contact information with us.

Possible Retraumatization

Having to describe what happened to you to detectives and/or getting a Forensic Rape Exam (FRE) can be really hard and potentially retraumatizing for victims/survivors. We recognize this, and if you want to talk about your experience or get support while you’re there please call us at 215-985-3333.

HOW IT WORKS FOR A CHILD (UP TO AGE 15)

The child’s safety is the first priority. If the child is in need of urgent or acute medical care, call 911 or go directly to:

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), 324 South 34th Street, Philadelphia 800-879-2467
• St. Christopher’s Hospital, 3601 East Erie Ave, Philadelphia 888-247-4754

At the hospital, describe what happened. The hospital will alert 911.

If you called 911 before going to the hospital, and the child is not seriously injured, a police officer will offer to transport the child and adult caregiver to the Philadelphia Safety Collaborative at 300 E. Hunting Park Ave. in Philadelphia, 215-425-1625.

The Philadelphia Safety Collaborative is where several agencies are located:

• Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit (SVU), 215-685-3251
• Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC), 215-425-1625
• Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS), 215-683-4347
• Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA), 215-387-9500

As an alternative, you may also call Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit (SVU) directly, 24/7 at 215-685-3251 and you can go there, day or night, without a police officer providing transportation. No reports are taken over the phone.

With all cases of child sexual abuse, whether the first contact is through a children’s hospital, 911, or by directly calling the Special Victims Unit (SVU), the child and family are linked to Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) and Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA).

Within hours (or a few days at the most), a child forensic interview occurs at the Philadelphia Safety Collaborative. If the child is not in need of acute or urgent medical care, examinations or delayed reportings could be scheduled for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam at the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA). The PCA exams are generally scheduled by the SVU detectives based on the timeline of events and reported nature of exposure. The providers giving the exams at PCA are child abuse specialists who work with the CHOP and St. Chris teams, so they are all very much looped in with one another.