Serenity Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)

What is an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA)?

An Independent Sexual Violence Advisor   ( ISVA) will:

• Contact you to offer ongoing support.
• Discuss and assess your needs.
• Offer face to face emotional and practical support and maintain contact with you by phone, email or text.
• Refer or signpost you to other services that can help you.
• Offer continued support throughout any criminal proceedings.
• Assist you with Criminal Injuries Compensation (CICA) claims.

What services do you provide?

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted we will offer you (and your family) practical help and emotional support. Including what you want to do next and support you in your choices. We can provide you with information and support for as long as you require it and/or refer and signpost you to other organisations that can help you.

Contacting & helping you

We will contact and help you in the way you prefer. This can include by telephone, email, virtual, text or face to face meetings.This will be either, here at Serenity or at a location nearer to you.

Forensic Medical Examination

The purpose of the examination is to both look after your health care needs following an assault. If you want it, it can be used to collect forensic samples that could assist in a police investigation. These samples can be passed to the Police or, if you are not reporting, stored by us in case you wish to report the assault in the future. All examinations are carried out by a doctor trained and experienced in this field.

Emergency Contraception

Our Doctors can provide the emergency contraceptive (morning after) pill within 72 hours of the assault and alternative medication for up to 5 days after. They will also talk about all other choices available to you.

Pregnancy Testing

If you think you may be pregnant as a result of an assault then we can offer pregnancy testing.

Advice and screening for sexually transmitted infections

The risk of getting some infections can be reduced if medication is given as soon as possible. The Doctor will evaluate the risk based on what has happened to you and discuss it with you; if necessary the doctor will start a course of treatment, referring you to a specialist clinic for follow up.

Police involvement

If you report the assault to the Police we will support you and work with the police to keep you informed; however, we won't pass on any information to them without your consent, or unless you request it.

Self Referring clients

If you self refer and don't want police involved, you will be supported in this and given exactly the same services. We will offer the opportunity whereby you can provide information to the police anonymously, which might help them identify a pattern of offences, but this is entirely your decision.

Support for Partners, Family and Friends

This can be a difficult time for partners and family and Serenity offers help and support for them too.

Who can access the service?

Anyone who has experienced or reported a serious sexual assault in the past 6 months - men and women; if your experience is more historic (and you haven't reported it in the last 6 months), you can still ring and get information about how you can get help.

Do I have to be referred?

No, you can self refer to the service. If you are under the referral age you can still ring and get help to talk to someone. All you need to do is contacts us on our helpline number, or email us at serenity@nhft.nhs.uk

Do I have to report it to the police?

You do NOT have to make a report to the police to access our service and the decision will be yours, but we can help you speak to a specially trained officer if you want to.

We can also help you give information anonymously that we can then pass on to the police for you. This will allow officers to gather vital intelligence that may help prevent future attacks, but they won't know who you are.

What if I don't want to tell you my identity?

You can keep your identity private if you want to - just give us a name you want us to use; we can use this even if we refer you on to specialist sexual health clinics or to other support services.

How confidential are you?

We are completely confidential and we won't pass on any information without your knowledge and consent. (Exceptionally, we will talk to you about making a disclosure where there is a child protection or public safety issue.)

What if I am worried about pregnancy or sexual infections?

Our doctors can give you the morning after pill; if it is too late for that they can give you something else that works up to 5 days after; they can risk assess you for sexual infection, start you on immediate medication and directly refer you to a specialist sexual health clinic.

Why do I feel like this?

Victims of rape and other sexual assaults commonly feel a range of emotions and effects; you might be experiencing:

• Fear & distress
• Anger or frustration
• Guilty or self blame
• Helplessness
• Anxiety
• Sleeplessness
• Lack of concentration
• Afraid to go out
• Unable to make decisions
• Reluctant to talk to people or socialise
• Problems with family, friends or work

Whatever you are feeling talk to us, we are here to listen and to support you.

What if I am a man?

Rape or sexual assault happens to both men and women; we offer a service to anyone in Northamptonshire, tailored to your specific needs.

What if it is historic or happened a long time ago?

We will talk to you about the help and advice you need.  We have organisations available that we can get in touch with which can help you.

Will I sit in a waiting room with people I may know?

It's important that we offer you a confidential service, so as far as possible we will provide you with the privacy you need.

What happens after your first visit to Serenity?

You will receive lots of information and you will be allocated a crisis worker. You may be given one the following medications:

EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION

This tablet is given to try and prevent pregnancy. The 'morning after pill' is given within 72 hours after the assault, but another medication can be given up to 5 days afterwards. You may feel sick after this tablet. If you are sick within 2 hours of taking the tablet, please phone us and we will give you another tablet.

HEPATITIS B IMMUNISATION
This immunisation is given to prevent infection from Hepatitis B passed through sexual contact. You may be given the first of a course of injections. We will either write to your GP for them to arrange the further injections, refer you to a sexual health clinic or give you a letter to take to a sexual health clinic at Kettering or Northampton General Hospital - depending on your preference. 

HIV POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PEP)
This medication is given to help prevent infection of HIV. You may have been given a 7 day starter pack of this medication and with your consent, you will be referred to the Sexual Health Clinic (GUM), who will arrange an appointment with you to continue your care.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
We do not routinely test for sexually transmitted infections during your exam as usually it's too soon to test effectively. We recommend you attend a sexual health clinic 2 weeks after the assault for screening. We will refer you to the clinic or, if you prefer, give you their contact details to make the arrangement yourself

ANTIBIOTICS

We may have given you antibiotics to try and prevent infection such as Chlamydia or Gonorrhoea.

NONE OF THE ABOVE

Sometimes we do not need to give you any medication as you may not be at risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. The doctor will have discussed the reason for their decision with you.

POLICE REFERRAL

If you came with a police officer, the forensic samples will be taken by the officer as part of the police investigation. They may be submitted for analysis.

SELF REFERRAL
If you have attended without the Police, your samples will be stored securely at Serenity for a period of 2 years, or until you consent for your samples to be handed to the Police.

We will ask if you want to provide information anonymously to the police for intelligence purposes. This can help to see for example, if there is a pattern of offences happening in a certain area or by a repeat offender. This is your choice, if you do we will pass information on for you without disclosing your identifying details.

If you would like to discuss your options or discuss involving the police, you can speak to our Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) who can give you information and answer any questions you may have

I am a professional looking to refer a child or young person into this service

For more information on how to refer a child or young person into the Children and Young People East Midlands Sexual Assualt Service (EMCYPSAS) please click here.