How to Get Through Your First Week After Sexual Assault
You're Here. You Survived. That Takes Courage.
If you're reading this, you may have just experienced something that has shattered your sense of safety. Your world feels different. Your body feels different. Your mind is racing with questions, fears, and maybe numbness. The first hours and days after sexual assault are some of the hardest of your life.
We want you to know something right now, before anything else: You can get through this first week. You are not alone. Help exists. At The 1st 28 Foundation, we believe in meeting survivors where you are—with compassion, without judgment, and with real tools to help you heal.
The first week after sexual assault—especially those first 72 hours—can feel impossible to navigate. You might not know what to do, where to go, or how to even breathe. This guide is here to help you take one step at a time, whatever that looks like for you.
Right Now: If You're in Immediate Danger
If you are unsafe right now, call 911.
If you need to get somewhere safe, please do that first. Everything else can wait.
Step 1: Reach Out—You Don't Have to Do This Alone
This is the hardest step, but it's also the most important. Telling someone might feel impossible, scary, or shameful. It isn't. What happened is not your fault. Speaking up is an act of courage.
Call or Text RAINN (24/7, Free, Confidential)
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
You can also:
Chat online at rainn.org/hotline
Text "HELLO" to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)
Text "HOPE" to 741741 (another option through Crisis Text Line)
RAINN has trained advocates ready to listen without judgment. They can answer questions, help you think through next steps, and connect you with local resources. They operate 24/7 in English and Spanish, with access to 170+ languages through the Language Line. This is completely anonymous if you need it to be.
Tell Someone You Trust
If you feel safe doing so, reach out to someone you trust—a friend, family member, counselor, or spiritual advisor. You don't have to tell them everything. You can just say: "I need help. Something happened to me."
Telling someone can feel like the hardest part, but it also begins to break the isolation that trauma creates. You deserve support.
Step 2: Understand Your Medical Options (First 72 Hours Are Time-Sensitive)
Within the first 72 hours of sexual assault, certain medical steps can make a real difference:
Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE Kit / Rape Kit)
If you choose to report to law enforcement or simply want to preserve evidence, a forensic exam collects physical evidence in a compassionate, confidential way. You do NOT have to report to police to get this exam. Many hospitals and specialized centers offer SAFE exams regardless of whether you report.
Why the 72-hour window matters:
Evidence collection is most effective in this timeframe
Some emergency medications (like PEP for HIV prevention) must begin within 72 hours to be effective
A trained medical professional can assess injuries and provide care
Your choices:
You can choose to get examined and preserve evidence without reporting
You can choose to report to police
You can choose neither—it's your decision
Advocates can go with you to any medical appointment
Find a medical facility near you: Ask the RAINN hotline to connect you with a local sexual assault service provider who can direct you to the nearest center.
Medical Care You May Need
Treatment for injuries
STI testing and prevention medication
HIV prevention (PEP—Post-Exposure Prophylaxis)
Emergency contraception (if applicable)
All of this can be offered with compassion and without judgment. Medical professionals trained in trauma care understand what you're going through.
Step 3: Create a Safe Space for Your Body and Mind
Right now, your nervous system is in shock. Your body may feel unsafe, even in places that used to feel comfortable. This is a normal trauma response. We know this from experience—many of us at The 1st 28 have walked this path. That's why we're here: to help you create that safe space and remind you that healing is possible.
Immediate Physical Safety
Go to a safe place. If home doesn't feel safe, stay with someone you trust, or call a local shelter if needed.
Remove triggers if you can. If certain clothes or spaces feel overwhelming, take steps to change your environment—shower, change clothes, move to a different room.
Let your body rest. Sleep may be impossible, or you might crash into exhaustion. Both are normal. If you can, rest.
Eat and drink something. Your body has been through trauma. Nourish it gently, even if it's just water and crackers.
Create a Comfort Kit for Your Weekend
Sometimes small comforts help:
Soft blankets or pillows
A journal (The 1st 28's free journal prompts can be a gentle starting point)
Music, audiobooks, or podcasts that feel soothing
A comfort item—a photo, stuffed animal, or candle
Herbal tea, water, snacks
Your phone charged, with crisis numbers saved
Step 4: Process What Happened—Your Way
One of the things survivors often struggle with is the pressure to talk about what happened before they're ready. There is no timeline for healing. You decide how much to share and when.
Journaling as a First Step
Writing can be powerful because it lets you process feelings without having to say them out loud. You don't have to write in sentences. You can:
Write single words describing how you feel
Draw or doodle
Write angry letters you never send
List what you need right now
Simply write "I don't know" over and over if that's where you are
The 1st 28 Foundation offers free guided journal promptsdesigned specifically for survivors in early recovery. They're gentle, non-prescriptive, and can help you start processing without judgment.
Other Ways to Process
Talk to someone you trust (or a hotline counselor)
Move your body gently (walk, stretch, dance)
Create something (art, music, writing)
Sit in silence and let yourself feel
Do nothing at all
There's no "right" way to process trauma. Your way is the right way.
Step 5: Practice Grounding—When Your Mind Won't Stop
Trauma can make your mind spiral into panic, flashbacks, or numb dissociation. Grounding techniques help bring you back to the present moment and your body.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
When you feel overwhelmed:
5 things you see (a wall, a light, your hand)
4 things you can touch (feel the blanket, the floor, your skin)
3 things you can hear (traffic, breathing, a clock)
2 things you can smell (coffee, air, a candle)
1 thing you can taste (water, gum, mint)
Other Grounding Tools
Hold ice cubes in your hands
Take a cold shower or splash cold water on your face
Press your feet firmly into the ground
Name objects in the room
Focus on slow breathing: breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4, out for 4
When your body feels unsafe, grounding reminds it: You are here. You are now. You are alive.
Step 6: Know What Resources Are Available to You
You don't have to figure this all out this weekend. But knowing help exists can provide some peace of mind.
National Resources
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)1-800-656-HOPE or chat online24/7 crisis support, local referrals, confidential
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)nsvrc.orgFind local organizations, resources, advocacyCrisis Text LineText HELLO to 741741Crisis counseling via text, 24/7
National Domestic Violence Hotline1-800-799-7233Text START to 88788
Local Support
Local rape crisis centers operate in nearly every community. Call RAINN to find the one nearest you.
Hospital emergency departments can provide medical exams and connect you to victim advocates.
Police victim advocates (if you choose to report) offer free support and guidance through the legal process.
Counselors and therapists specializing in trauma—your local sexual assault service provider can refer you.
What The 1st 28 Foundation Can Offer You
At The 1st 28 Foundation, we believe in meeting you where you are—with compassion, without judgment, and with real tools to help you heal. We're not just a resource. We're a community of survivors who understand because we've lived it.
Healing starts with the right tools. We're here for this journey with you.
Free Journaling Resources & Guided Prompts: Start your healing with journaling designed specifically for survivors. Many of our community members have found that putting pen to paper—even just one word—helped them begin to process what happened. Writing is powerful medicine.
Educational Workshops: As you move beyond this first weekend, workshops on mindfulness, healing strategies, personal development, and professional empowerment can help you rebuild—on your timeline, at your pace.
Career Assistance: When you're ready, we support survivors in rebuilding professional confidence and independence. You deserve stability and purpose.
Survivor Community: You are not alone. The 1st 28 connects survivors with each other and with advocates who understand because they've walked this path too.
Learn more about The 1st 28's resources and how we can support your healing.
Remember This: You Will Get Through This Week
Your nervous system is screaming right now. Your thoughts are fragmented. Your body feels betrayed. All of this is normal. This is not weakness. This is what happens when someone is harmed.
But here's what we know: You are stronger than you know. You have already survived the hardest part—the assault itself. You're still here. You're still breathing. You found yourself reading this, reaching out, looking for help.
That is courage. That is resilience. That is strength.
Your first week is about survival, not healing. Survival is about:
Getting to safety
Reaching out for help
Being gentle with yourself
Knowing help exists
Taking one breath at a time
Healing comes later. Right now, you just have to get through this week. And you can. We believe in you. The 1st 28 community believes in you.
Your First Action: Make One Call
If you take nothing else from this, do this one thing this weekend:
Call RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE or chat at rainn.org.
Just hear another voice. Just know you're not alone. Just take that one step.
You deserve support. You deserve kindness. You deserve to heal.
And you deserve to know: No matter what you've been through, nothing will take your light.
Crisis Resources At a Glance
📞 RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 (call or chat)
💬 Text "HOPE" to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)
🚨 Immediate danger: Call 911
🌐 Find local help:nsvrc.org
📖 The 1st 28 Foundation:the1st28.org — Free resources, journals, and community
A Note on Shame
If you're feeling shame right now—that this was your fault, that you caused this, that you "should have" done something differently—please hear this:
You did nothing wrong. What happened to you is not your fault.
Shame is a lie that trauma tells. It whispers that you caused this. You didn't. The person who assaulted you made a choice to harm you. That is on them. Not you.
When shame speaks, reach out. Call RAINN. Text a friend. Write in your journal. Tell the shame: "This is not mine to carry."
The 1st 28 Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering survivors of sexual assault. We believe healing begins with the right tools and a supportive community. If you or someone you know needs help, reach out. You are not alone.
