Rape and sexual assault

If you have been sexually assaulted whilst abroad you should tell the High Commission as soon as possible. You should also tell the local police as soon as you can and insist on a police report.

We take any report of rape or sexual assault seriously and will offer you support as soon as possible and in privacy. We aim to be polite, patient, sensitive and non-judgmental.

In most cases of rape and sexual assault, the victims, no matter what their sex, prefer to talk about their ordeal with women. If that is what you want, we will do our best to make sure that a female officer is present at any meeting.

What we can do to help:

• advise you about local police and legal procedures
• accompany you to the local police station and where possible we can try to make sure you are interviewed by a female officer
• provide a list of local lawyers and interpreters
• help you to arrange a medical examination where possible with a female doctor
• depending on local laws and customs we can also arrange for you to get advice on sexually transmitted infections, and on pregnancy and abortion
• contact relatives or friends if you want us to
• provide information on what professional help is available locally and back in the UK consult our police advisor who can consider using the services of a Sexual Offences Trained Officer from your local police force to advise and help you

Whether you take legal action after an attack is entirely your decision.  But please remember, if you change your mind later forensic and other evidence may be lost.

In some countries you must report the crime before returning to the UK if you want it to be investigated.

Related document: Rape and sexual assault overseas