Need urgent help?
For urgent help with sexual assault, HIV or emergency contraception, see who to contact in your local area:
I need help after rape or sexual assault
If you need immediate support after a sexual assault or rape, there are specialist centres all over the UK that can help you. These sexual assault referral centres are open 24 hours a day. They offer medical, practical and emotional support.
Contact a sexual assault service near you in:
Rape Crisis offers 24/7 support through its website, including a phone helpline, online chat and centres in some parts of the country.
You do not need to report anything to the police to use these services. But they can help you if you do want to do this.
I need emergency contraception
If you had sex without contraception, or your contraception was forgotten or failed, emergency contraception can help stop unwanted pregnancy.
The non-hormonal coil is the most effective type of emergency contraception if you get one fitted in the 5 days after sex.
Emergency contraception pills, also called the morning-after pill, comes in 2 types that can be taken within 3 days or within 5 days or unprotected sex.
To get the morning-after pill you can:
visit a local pharmacy that offers NHS emergency contraception services
get it from your GP surgery
buy it from a local chemist or high street pharmacy (prices start at £10)
I'm worried I've got HIV
If you've had condomless sex with someone you believe has transmittable HIV, or you've been sexually assaulted, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may stop you becoming infected.
PEP must be started with 72 hours of contact with HIV for it to work effectively. You'll need to take the pills every day for 4 weeks, and it can have some side effects.
To get PEP you can:
go to your local sexual health clinic
go to an A&E department
Do you need help with something else?
Find sexual health services near you
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