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Emergencies

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I have been sexually abused, what should I do?

1 | Go to a safe place

A friend’s or family member’s home, a university department, a police station, a hospital...
 

2 | Call the UCLouvain Security Service

The service quickly sends security agents specifically trained in the particularities of each UCLouvain campus.

At the same time, the UCLouvain dispatching service will call for help (medical assistance and/or police).
 

3 | Receiving medical care and/or forensic exam
 

Sexual Assault Centres

Immediately after a sexual assault or rape, whether or not you plan to press charges, it is advisable to go to a Sexual Assault Centre (French initialism: CPVS). The CPVSs receive you 24/7 if you are in an emergency situation, and for up to one month after the incident. They are located in Brussels, Liège and Charleroi, as well as Flanders.

The advantage of these centres is that they offer a range of services in one place:

  • psychological support and follow-up;
  • medical care;
  • forensic examination;
  • possibility of lodging a complaint.

For optimal care, it’s best to come to a centre within 72 hours of the assault, if possible, in order to benefit from better management of infectious risks and forensic sampling.
 
With this in mind, after a sexual assault, if possible:

  • do not change out of the clothes you were wearing when assaulted; if this is not possible, then bring them in a paper bag;
  • do not wash yourself;
  • avoid urinating or store the urine and place any used paper in a paper bag.

The paper bag preserves DNA, unlike plastic bags. After 72 hours, traces of rape fade away. Nevertheless, the centre may consider taking samples up to one week after the assault. 

If you cannot go to a centre, consult your general practitioner or a family planning clinic, or go to the hospital of your choice to receive first aid, information on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and/or preventive treatment (prevention of STIs or pregnancy). In all cases, it is important to ask for a detailed medical certificate, attesting to the traces of/wounds owing to possible violence, as well as to your emotional state. 

In the case of an official complaint concerning a recent sexual assault, the Crown Prosecutor may propose the use of a rape kit (French acronym: SAS) to collect evidence of the assault. Please note that taking samples via a rape kit in hospital will only be possible for rapes that occurred between 24 and 72 hours earlier.
 

4 | Talking about it

You can use free helplines anonymously: