If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 999 (or 112 from a mobile).
If an incident has just happened, try and find somewhere that feels safe.
If you are at a venue alert a member of staff or security.
Talk
Get support from a friend or trusted family member. Confiding in someone may help you to deal with the immediate situation and may calm your mind.
If you think there may have been a sexual assault, you can contact The Bridge, a Bristol’s sexual assault referral centre, for specialist care and support.
Listen
If someone tells you they think they’ve experienced spiking, just taking the time to listen to them and talk about what has happened can help. These active listening tips might help you support them. Based on the Samaritans guidelines for active listening, SpunOut.ie has a useful blog post on how to actively listen.
- Give options. When they’ve finished talking, ask them if they’re okay to talk through some possible options for support or how they might report what has happened.
- There is further advice if they think they may have been sexually assaulted.
- Help them to report if that is what they want to do.
Look after yourself
It is important that you take care of yourself. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, confidential help is available.
Report it
- The police – to report directly to the police you can call 101. They can arrange for testing to take place as soon as possible, ideally within 12 hours. You can also complete a report form.
- Bristol Nights campaign is encouraging people to tell staff at the venue so that testing can take place as soon as possible.
- The University’s campus police officer. Any individual can talk directly and report an incident to the Campus Police Officer, who can be contacted via the 9999 UWE Bristol Gatehouse telephone number.
- You can also tell us about an incident using the University’s Report and Support system. You can report anonymously or provide us with contact details. If you give details, we’ll get in touch to discuss the potential next steps. This could include you making a formal report.