If someone has just assaulted you, the first things to do are get somewhere safe, call 911 or a crisis hotline, go to a hospital even if you feel okay, and avoid washing or changing anything that could carry evidence. Everything else — reporting to police, getting a protective order, applying for victim compensation, filing a civil lawsuit — can follow in the hours and days after. Knowing what to do if someone assaults you starts with those first steps and extends to the legal and financial options that stay open to you afterward.
Get Somewhere Safe and Call for Help
Leave if you are still in danger. A neighbor’s house, a store, a restaurant — any place with other people around works. Once you are out of reach, call 911. Tell the dispatcher what happened, where you are, whether you need an ambulance, and whether the person who assaulted you is still nearby. Officers will usually come to you and take an initial report on the spot.
If the immediate danger has passed but you need support, two national hotlines are open all day, every day. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 provides confidential help and connects you with services in your state.1RAINN. National Sexual Assault Hotline The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 offers safety planning and local referrals for shelters, legal aid, and counseling.2National Domestic Violence Hotline. Domestic Violence Support You can also text START to 88788 to reach the domestic violence hotline. Both services are free and confidential.
Go to the Hospital
Get checked out even if nothing feels seriously wrong. Concussions, internal bleeding, and soft tissue injuries can take hours or days to show up, and a clinician will see things you won’t. The medical record from this visit also matters later: it becomes evidence if you report the crime, apply for compensation, or sue.
Sexual Assault Forensic Exams
If the assault was sexual, a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination — sometimes called a rape kit — collects physical evidence from your body and clothing and also handles urgent care like STI testing and pregnancy prevention.3Office on Violence Against Women. Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination (SAFE) Information The exam works best within 72 hours but can still produce useful evidence after that. Many hospitals have specially trained examiners; the RAINN hotline can direct you to the nearest one.
You Will Not Be Billed for the Forensic Exam Itself
Federal law requires every state to cover the full out-of-pocket cost of a sexual assault forensic exam, including facility fees and any copay or deductible your insurance would normally apply. The state cannot force you to bill your own insurance, and you do not have to report to police or cooperate with investigators to get the exam for free.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10449 – Rape Exam Payments Treatment beyond the evidence-collection part of the visit — stitches, prescriptions, follow-up care — may be billed separately. Crime victim compensation, covered below, is designed to pick up those costs.
Protect the Evidence
Evidence disappears fast. After a sexual assault, try not to shower, brush your teeth, change clothes, or eat or drink before the forensic exam. For any assault, leave the scene undisturbed if you can.
If you have to change clothes, put what you were wearing into a paper bag, not plastic. Plastic holds moisture and destroys biological evidence. Seal it and keep it somewhere safe until law enforcement or a forensic examiner can take it.
Document everything else while it is fresh:
- Photograph your injuries close-up and from farther back, and photograph them again over the next few days as bruising develops. Do the same for any property damage and the location of the assault.
- Screenshot every text, email, voicemail, and social media message from the person who assaulted you.
- Write down the names and contact information of anyone who saw what happened or saw you right after.
- Write out your own account as soon as you can: date, time, place, exact words spoken, what the person looked like, what they did. Memory degrades quickly, and a written account made close to the event is credible later.
Reporting to Law Enforcement
You can report an assault at any time: call the non-emergency police line, walk into a station, or add to the report officers already took at the scene. During the interview, an officer will ask what happened, when, where, and for a description of the person who assaulted you. Bring your written account and anything you have documented.
You are not expected to recite every detail perfectly. Honest, consistent answers carry more weight than polished ones, and it is fine to say you don’t remember something.
Many states let sexual assault and domestic violence victims have an advocate or support person in the interview with them. The specifics vary, so ask the investigating officer or call a local victim services organization before you go in.
After the report is filed, you should get a case number. Keep it somewhere you can find it. You will need it to check on the investigation, apply for compensation, and reference the incident in any protective order or civil filing.
What to Expect After You Report
Filing a report does not guarantee an arrest, and the process can feel slow. Detectives investigate, interview witnesses, and gather any surveillance footage. If probable cause supports it, they make an arrest or seek a warrant. From there a prosecutor — not you — decides whether to file charges. If charges are filed, the case moves through arraignment and either resolves in a plea deal or goes to trial.
As a crime victim in a federal case, you have rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, including protection from the accused, notice of court proceedings, the right to attend them, the right to be heard at sentencing, and the right to be informed of any plea deal before it is finalized.5GovInfo. 18 USC 3771 – Crime Victims Rights Most states have parallel rights for state-level cases. A victim advocate through the prosecutor’s office can tell you which apply to your case.
To track the suspect’s custody status, register with VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday). It sends free, automatic alerts by phone, text, email, or app whenever the person is released, transferred, or escapes.6Office for Victims of Crime. Victim Notification
Getting a Protective Order
A protective order (also called a restraining order) is a civil court order that can require the person who assaulted you to stay away from your home, workplace, and school and to stop contacting you. Violating one is a crime in every state, usually a misdemeanor with jail time and fines, and a felony where the violation involves further violence.
The process generally has two stages. You go to the courthouse, fill out a petition describing the assault and why you need protection, and a judge reviews it, often the same day. In most places there is no filing fee for orders tied to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The judge can issue a temporary order on the spot, without the other party present, that holds until a full hearing scheduled roughly two to three weeks out. At that hearing, both sides can present their side, and if the judge grants a longer-term order it can last from one to several years depending on the state, with the option to renew.
Federal law requires every state to enforce a valid protective order issued in any other state.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders If you move or the person crosses state lines, the order travels with you. Keep a copy on you and give copies to your employer, your children’s school, and local police where you spend significant time.
Help Paying Your Costs
Every state runs a crime victim compensation program that reimburses out-of-pocket costs from violent crime. Federal grants under the Victims of Crime Act require participating states to cover medical and dental care, mental health counseling, lost wages, and funeral costs.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 20102 – Crime Victim Compensation Many state programs go further, covering temporary housing, crime scene cleanup, and travel to medical appointments or court.9Office for Victims of Crime. Formula Grants: VOCA Compensation and Assistance
To qualify, you generally need to have reported the crime to police within a set time, though extensions are common for good cause. You also need to apply within a set window after the crime, often six months to a year. The program pays what insurance and other sources don’t. Your state’s victim compensation office or a prosecutor’s-office advocate can give you the application. If you had a forensic exam, this program can cover related medical treatment the federal exam funding didn’t.
Suing the Person Who Assaulted You
A civil lawsuit is separate from the criminal case. The government runs the criminal case and can send someone to jail. You run the civil case, and it seeks money for your losses. You can pursue both at once, and a civil case can succeed even if the criminal case is dropped or ends in acquittal, because the civil standard — more likely than not — is lower than beyond a reasonable doubt.
What You Can Recover
Economic damages cover concrete costs: medical bills, therapy, lost wages, damaged property. Non-economic damages cover pain, emotional distress, and lasting psychological harm. Where the conduct was especially egregious, a court may add punitive damages intended to punish rather than compensate.
The Deadline That Kills Claims
Every state sets a filing deadline for civil assault and battery claims, and missing it ends the case. Deadlines across the states run from one year to six years, with two years the most common.10Justia. Civil Statutes of Limitations: 50-State Survey Some states extend or pause the clock for minors, for injuries that weren’t immediately discovered, or for sexual assault specifically. Look up your state’s deadline early even if you aren’t sure you want to sue, because the clock starts the day of the assault. Criminal charges have their own separate deadlines that vary by state and offense; many states have no deadline at all for sexual assault or aggravated assault involving serious injury.11Justia. Criminal Statutes of Limitations: 50-State Survey
Keeping Your Housing and Your Job
If you live in federally subsidized housing — public housing, Section 8, and similar programs — the Violence Against Women Act bars your landlord from evicting you or canceling your assistance because you were a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 12491 – Housing Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking You can also request an emergency transfer to a different unit if you reasonably believe you are in danger of further violence, and the housing provider must keep your new address confidential.13U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) These protections apply to federally subsidized housing; private market tenants should check state law.
There is no single federal law guaranteeing crime victims paid or unpaid time off for court appearances or safety planning. About half the states and the District of Columbia have “safe leave” laws that protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking from being fired for taking time off to go to court, get medical care, or relocate. Your state labor department or a victim advocate can tell you whether your state has one and whether employer size or crime type affects eligibility.