Resources for Survivors
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. This includes recent threats and acts of violence.
If you or someone you know needs help, there are resources available for you. The following are a few trusted resources you can use to support yourself or a loved one. You are not alone.
In an emergency situation, always call 911. Emergency situations include a recent threat of violence, recent act of violence or if someone’s health is in imminent danger. Additionally, there are many resources and crisis lines available to survivors for support in their healing process.
In an emergency situation, always call 911. Emergency situations include a recent threat of violence, recent act of violence or if someone’s health is in imminent danger. Additionally, there are many resources and crisis lines available to survivors for support in their healing process.
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 | www.thehotline.org
Online Hotline: www.thehotline.org (Click the "Chat" button.)
En Español: espanol.thehotline.org
1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)
You can also live chat with a trained counselor at www.childhelphotline.org.
Call 1-888-373-7888 (TTY: 711)| SMS: 233733 (Text “HELP” or “INFO”)
Website: www.humantraffickinghotline.org
En Español: www.humantraffickinghotline.org/obtenga-ayuda
If you are a victim of nonconsensual pornography (“NCP”, also known as “revenge porn”), recorded sexual assault (RSA), or sextortion and you reside in the United States, please call the CCRI (cybercivil rights) Crisis Helpline at 844-878-CCRI (2274). Compassionate and cross-trained representatives can provide information, support, referrals, and non-legal advice. The toll-free CCRI Crisis Helpline is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and interpretation is available in most languages.
Ending the rape kit backlog will take a coordinated effort and deep commitment at all levels of our government and in communities across the United States. That work starts with knowing about it—educating yourself and others—and then committing to reform efforts. Below is a selection of resources for those in positions to affect change in their jurisdiction, through legislation, revised policies and procedures, and executive actions.
Ending the rape kit backlog will take a coordinated effort and deep commitment at all levels of our government and in communities across the United States. That work starts with knowing about it—educating yourself and others—and then committing to reform efforts. Below is a selection of resources for those in positions to affect change in their jurisdiction, through legislation, revised policies and procedures, and executive actions.
Prepared by Joyful Heart Foundation and All in Together, this webinar provides an introduction to advocacy for those who want to help change policies around sexual assault evidence handling.
Crime victim compensation programs across the country offer crucial financial assistance to victims of violence. This site provides information on how the programs operate in each state and what victims can do to seek help.
As states and local jurisdictions take steps toward eliminating their rape kit backlogs, they are faced with the question of how to re-engage survivors whose cases are often years—sometimes decades—old in a manner that is not retraumatizing, can enhance the probability that a survivor will engage with the criminal justice system, and will increase the likelihood that a survivor will access supportive services.
As states and local jurisdictions take steps toward eliminating their rape kit backlogs, they are faced with the question of how to re-engage survivors whose cases are often years—sometimes decades—old in a manner that is not retraumatizing, can enhance the probability that a survivor will engage with the criminal justice system, and will increase the likelihood that a survivor will access supportive services.
This report offers guidance on how to notify and re-engage survivors whose kits have been part of the rape kit backlog. Given the lack of scholarly research examining and suggesting best practices for survivor notification, Joyful Heart partnered with researcher Dr. Courtney Ahrens of California State University at Long Beach to bring together the voices of over 90 survivors, as well as criminal justice, medical, academic, clinical and advocacy professionals, to establish a set of recommendations.
Drawing lessons from Joyful Heart’s study on survivor notification, this webinar gives guidelines for when and how to notify victims, who should notify them, and what information should be shared with them.
NIJ prepared this brochure to illustrate lessons learned from federally funded studies that investigated the untested rape kit issues in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Michigan and in the Houston Police Department.
The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) and RTI International’s concise guide walks through the victim notification process by asking 12 key questions and providing recommendations.
Trauma has a significant effect on survivors' reflexes during an assault, reactions and behavior after an assault, and their ability to recall details. Understanding the neurobiology of trauma and the impact of trauma on sexual assault survivors vastly improves cold case investigations and victim notification.
Trauma has a significant effect on survivors' reflexes during an assault, reactions and behavior after an assault, and their ability to recall details. Understanding the neurobiology of trauma and the impact of trauma on sexual assault survivors vastly improves cold case investigations and victim notification.
The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault—Implications for Law Enforcement, Prosecution, and Victim Advocacy is a webinar with Dr. Rebecca Campbell, Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, that specifically focuses on providing information for first responders to sexual assault.
This webinar explains how the neurobiology of sexual assault trauma affects victims' behavior during and after an assault, and how trauma affects memory formation and recall during and immediately after an assault. The webinar also explains how this information on the neurobiology of trauma can inform cold case investigations and victim notification.
This one-pager by the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, on the neurobiology of sexual assault, includes key terms and citations from major research resources.