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I do not wish to report to the police

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We understand how traumatic it is to speak out about rape and sexual assault and to report to the police. You don’t have to make a report to the police to access the services of The Ferns.

All you have to do is call the Centre to make an appointment on 0300 123 5058

We cannot see you unless you make an appointment but we will try to offer you an appointment as soon as we can.

You can bring a friend or partner to support you when you attend the Centre and to take you home. We would encourage you to do this, particularly following a forensic medical examination. You will have access to all the services offered at The Ferns. We will complete a first account with you - this will detail all facts about the incident. If you report to the police at a later date this can also be passed to them with your consent and will act as your initial account. We will store all your samples for a period of time, so if you want to make a report to the police at a later date you can do. This gives you time to think and consider your next steps.

If you wish to report the incident to the police at a later date The Ferns will pass any samples or evidence gained from the forensic medical examination to the police with your consent. We can also support you and assist you with reporting the assault to the police if you decide you want to. If you do not want a full forensic medical examination and the assault happened in the last few days it may be useful to take an ‘Early Evidence Kit'. This consists of a mouth rinse and urine sample and will only be completed with your consent.

There will be no pressure for you to make a report to the police. Your Crisis Worker will talk through your options with you. You may decide that you want to give us information to share with the police without revealing your identity. No information will be shared without your consent unless we feel that there is a child at risk, you are at further risk or if there is a potential risk to others. If we felt that we had to share information we would inform you of this.

Whether you talk to the police or not we can still offer you support, and assist you in getting help from other services who can provide specialist emotional counselling following trauma.