What to Do If You Think You’ve Been Drugged and Raped
- Get safe. Call a friend, family member or rape crisis center to help you. This is not the time to be alone. You deserve emotional support and help in handling this crisis.
- Get medical attention. Do not shower or clean yourself first in case you want to gather evidence to help with reporting the crime. As soon as possible, go to a hospital or school health center to be examined. Tell them you think you may have been drugged. They will test your blood and urine, evaluate you for injuries (you may have internal injuries which you are not aware of), and treat you for possible sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. If you decide to press charges, physical specimens collected soon after the rape will be valuable evidence.
- Report the attack to police and university or college officials, whether or not you plan to file charges. (Reporting a rape does not commit you to filing charges. You can make that decision later.) Have someone go with you.
- Consider whether you want to file charges with the police and with the campus authorities if the rapist is a student.
- Get help and support. Whether you are seeking help for something that happened recently or a long time ago, you have been through a profound trauma and deserve help to deal with the situation and with your feelings.
Source: Rape Prevention and Education: How to Protect Yourself and Get Help. Florida Council Against Sexual Violence. Alcohol and Sexual Assault: The Connection