You may be feeling shocked, frightened or confused when you come to one of our centres for your appointment. You may not feel able to trust anyone. You may be concerned that no one will believe you.
But you will be in safe hands: everyone you will meet at the Havens is experienced in helping people who have been raped or sexual assaulted.
We know how distressing it can be to talk about what has happened and will take things slowly.
We will believe and support you, and treat you with respect.
On your first visit to the Havens that won’t be possible. All of our sexual offences examiners are women, so if you decide to have a forensic medical examination it will be carried out by a female examiner. They are skilled and experienced in examining men and will treat you with dignity. We may be able to arrange for you to have a male chaperone if you would like one.
If you prefer to see a male doctor at your follow-up appointments, you can go the Haven in Whitechapel. They hold a dedicated male clinic with a male consultant every fortnight.
We can arrange this for you or you can make the appointment yourself by phoning the Havens Whitechapel on 020 7247 4787.
You can come back to one of the Havens for your follow-up appointment and after care. This can include a health screen to check for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and time with one of our counsellors or health advisers.
You can talk to them about how you feel. It can be very hard to deal with the emotional impact of rape or sexual assault and they can arrange for you to have counselling or to see one of our clinical psychologists for more help.
Friends, family members and partners are welcome to come with you for support if you want them to. We will want to speak to you on your own during your visit, so you have a chance to talk and ask us about everything you need to.