Call 911. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24 hours a day. Neither of those decisions has anything to do with whether you ever pursue a claim.
National hotlines
24/7 · confidential
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
800-656-4673 routes you to a trained advocate at a local center. No name required. Also available as online chat if speaking is too hard.
24/7 · for and about children
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
800-422-4453, staffed by professional crisis counselors, with interpreters available. For children, and for adults concerned about a child.
For men and boys
1in6
1in6.org offers a free 24/7 online helpline, peer support groups, and resources built specifically for male survivors, who disclose far less often and much later on average.
Crisis · 24/7
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988. Free and confidential, for anyone in emotional distress, not only for people who are actively suicidal.
For reporting online exploitation
NCMEC CyberTipline
report.cybertip.org or 800-843-5678, for online enticement, grooming, or exploitation of a child. Reports can be made anonymously.
In person, near you
Your local rape crisis center
Most offer free counseling, support groups, and advocates who can accompany you to a hospital, a police interview, or a court hearing. RAINN’s hotline connects you to yours automatically.
What actually happens when you call
People imagine an interrogation. It is closer to the opposite.
- You do not have to give your name, your location, or any detail you do not want to give.
- You will not be pushed toward reporting. A good advocate explains what options exist and then follows your lead.
- You do not have to describe what happened. Many calls are mostly about how someone is coping now.
- There is no time limit and no expiry date. Whether it happened last night or in 1978, this is what the line is for.
- You can hang up whenever you want, and call back later and speak to someone else.
Hotlines are confidential. Some professionals, including certain therapists, doctors, teachers and in some states clergy, are mandatory reporters, meaning they may be required to report suspected abuse of someone who is currently a minor. For an adult disclosing historical abuse this usually does not apply, but if it matters to you, ask about confidentiality at the start of any conversation rather than after. More in how to report abuse.
More support pages
How to report abuse
Police, licensing boards, or nobody at all, and what each route does, what it does not do, and how mandatory reporting works.
Trauma and healing
Why the response you had was normal, why disclosure takes decades, and what treatment approaches actually have evidence behind them.
For families
What helps after someone discloses, what quietly hurts, and how to act without taking the decision away from them.
Questions we are asked most
You are connected with a trained advocate, usually at a local center near you. They listen. They do not require your name, your location, or any details you do not want to give. They can explain your options, whether medical, legal, reporting or support groups, without pushing you toward any of them. You can hang up at any time, and you can call back and speak to someone different.
No. Hotlines are confidential and calling does not trigger a report. There is one important exception to be aware of generally: mandatory reporting laws can require certain professionals, including some therapists, doctors and teachers, to report suspected abuse of a person who is currently a minor. If you are an adult disclosing historical abuse, that generally does not apply. If you are unsure, ask about confidentiality at the start of any conversation.
Text and chat services exist for exactly this reason. RAINN operates a 24/7 online chat, and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline accepts text messages. Many people find it far easier to type something they cannot say aloud, and there is nothing second-best about using them.
Yes. Hotlines are not only for crises that happened this week. A large share of the people who call are talking about something from twenty or forty years ago, often for the first time. There is no expiration date on needing to talk to someone, and advocates are not surprised by it.
Yes. Every service listed here serves men and boys, and 1in6 exists specifically for male survivors, with a free 24/7 online helpline. Male survivors disclose far less often and far later on average, not because it happens less, but because the cultural script for it barely exists.
Look for someone who names trauma treatment specifically, not just general practice. Modalities with good evidence for this include EMDR, trauma-focused CBT, and somatic approaches. Your local rape crisis center, which RAINN's hotline will connect you to, usually maintains a vetted referral list, and many offer free or sliding-scale counseling directly. It is entirely reasonable to ask a prospective therapist about their experience with sexual trauma before your first session.
If someone else has access to your device, open this site in a private or incognito browsing window, which leaves no entry in your history at all. If you believe your device is being monitored, use a different device entirely; a library computer or a friend's phone is safer than any setting on a compromised one. Clearing your history afterwards helps, but it does not defeat network-level monitoring.
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), National Sexual Assault Hotline and online chat.
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- 1in6, resources for men who have experienced unwanted or abusive sexual experiences.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, CyberTipline.
These organizations are independent of this site. We list them because they are useful, not because of any relationship with them.
