Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
Everyone processes sexual assaults differently. This means some people may want to go to the police, and some people might not. Some people might even change their mind about what they want to do. These are all normal and valid responses. It is important to remember that it is each persons own decision to make, and the people around them should be there to respect and support that decision.
You can still report a rape or sexual assault no matter when it happened, even if it was a long time ago.
You get to decide whether you make a formal complaint or not.
You can talk to the police for advice about your options, and don’t have to make a decision straight away.
You will be connected to professional support throughout the process, if you want it.
If you, or someone you are supporting, chooses to go to the police, it can help to know what to expect. The New Zealand Police have a specific system just for dealing with sexual assaults, where specially trained officers, staff, and support people work together to make sure the survivor has the easiest experience possible. We have broken down what that process generally looks like below.
While you don’t have to call ahead, it can be a good idea to start off with a call to make sure everything is ready and set up for you when you go into your local station. Depending on when the assault happened, there are three different options for who you might call.
If the assault just happened, call 111. 111 is for emergencies, so it is best to call them when the assault has just happened, and they can arrange to quickly come to you, and collect evidence if they need to. The police may collect evidence at the time, even if you don’t want to make a complaint – this is to make sure if you change your mind later, they have everything they need already.
If the assault happened a while ago, call your local station. If you aren’t currently in danger, and there is no physical evidence to be collected, it is easier to call your local station. This way you can ask for advice, or explain what you are wanting to do, and they can prepare anything needed at the station before you get there.
If you aren’t sure, call 105. 105 is for non-emergencies, so you may need to wait a bit longer for someone to pick up, but they can help you work out who the best person to call is, and give you any urgent advice you need.
If the assault just happened, the police may want to come to where you are to collect evidence. Even if you don’t want to make a complaint or aren’t sure yet, by collecting evidence at the time this ensures the police have everything they need for an investigation if you decide to make a complaint later on.
Here is some advice the police give if the assault just happened, to help make sure evidence is preserved:
Do not shower or bathe as that may destroy forensic evidence.
Try to avoid going to the toilet as that may also destroy forensic evidence.
Do not wash or throw away the clothing you were wearing during the assault as you may also destroy forensic evidence.
Do not tidy up or move things in the place where the sexual assault occurred.
When you go into the police station, you can tell the person at the front counter that you need to speak with a police officer in private. If you have a preference, you are able to ask to speak to a female or a male officer and they will do their best to arrange this for you.
When you talk to the officer, they will take some brief notes to help them work out what to do next, and make sure that you are safe.
Once you have made your report at the police station, they will refer you to a trained police investigator who will do a short interview with you. This is to help plan and prioritise the investigation and ensure your safety.
You are able to have a support person with you at every stage of the process – it is up to you who this person is. You may like to have a friend or a family member there for support, or you are also able to access support from a specialist sexual assault support service.
If you want specialist support, with your consent the police will contact a specialist sexual assault support service and a support person will be assigned to you. It can sometimes be nice to have a specialist there with you as they are trained to give you the support you need, and have a good understanding of the police process.
The police may or may not arrange a medical examination, depending on when the assault happened. If a medical examination is arranged, it will be with a specially trained doctor. The purpose of a medical examination is to deal with any health concerns that might arise from an assault, as well as to assist the police investigation by collecting any medical evidence.
A formal interview will be arranged at another date. This interview is more in-depth than the preliminary one, as they will record details of the assault to form your formal statement that can be used for any criminal proceedings like court cases.
This interview will be carried out by a specialist interviewer and will be recorded. Recording the interview allows the option of having it played in court as your evidence.
After your formal interview where you have made you statement and filed your complaint, the police will investigate the matter. Police may speak to people who have information about the assault to get more evidence. During the investigation they will do their best to protect your privacy, and keep you informed througout the process.
Investigations may take some time, and the suspects may not be interviewed until after more enquiries are made. The police will let you know if charges are laid, and what those charges are, or they will let you know why charges weren’t laid.
It is your choice whether you want to make a formal complaint or not. The police are there to give you as much information and support as possible to help you make this decision.
You can change your mind about making a formal complaint at any point up until you have completed your formal interview, even if you change your mind after the interview as begun. Once the interview is done though, the police have a duty of care to investigate the person to make sure they aren’t a danger to anyone else.
The decision to charge the person or not depends on a range of different factors including what evidence is available. The police will talk to you before a decision about charging the person is made. Whether the person is charged or not, the police will do their best to keep you updated and help you to access any support you need.