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Reporting Options
If you want to report the assault to police
Below are guidelines for reporting options for Youth and Adults if you want to report the assault.
Considerations when reporting to the police
Considerations when reporting to the police
If you are reporting a sexual assault, the police:
Youth Reporting (Ages 13-17)
There are no time limits on when you can report a sexual assault. You can take as much time as you need after the assault and report when you are ready. However, the sooner you report, the easier it is to gather and preserve evidence.
Please Note: If you are seeking medical care and are under the age of 18, doctors and nurses are required by DC law to report any suspected abuse or neglect to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. Even if a report is made by someone else, speaking with police is still your choice.
For a full explanation of what this means for you, visit Resources on Confidentiality & Mandated Reporting.
To contact police immediately after an assault:
- Call 911
- Contact the DC Victim Hotline to speak with an Advocate who can help you call the police and support you while you speak with them
A detective from the Youth and Family Services Division (YFSD) at the Metropolitan Police Department will introduce themselves and briefly speak with you about what happened. They may set up a time to speak with you in more detail later or schedule a forensic interview where a trained interviewer talks with you about what happened so that you don’t have to repeat the details for any other investigative agencies who may become involved, such as a prosecutor’s office.
Adult Reporting
There are no time limits on when you can report a sexual assault. You can take as much time as you need after the assault and report when you are ready. In DC, you have up to 5 days after a sexual assault to have a Physical Evidence Recovery Kit (PERK) collected to help document and preserve potential evidence. Reporting sooner can increase the chances of recovering evidence, but even if that window has passed, it's never too late to seek support or explore your options.
To contact police immediately after an assault:
- Call 911
- Contact the DC Victim Hotline to speak with an Advocate who can help you call the police or the Sexual Assault Unit and support you while you speak with them
- Call the Sexual Assault Unit directly at (202) 727-3700
Sexual Assault Unit detectives are:
- Specially trained to investigate sexual assault crimes
- Required to offer an Advocate, call one for you, and allow the Advocate to be present during the interview
- Required to make all reasonable attempts to notify you of their intent to contact any suspect in your case, or barring that, notify you immediately after that contact is made