Sexual Assault Service

We provide comprehensive and sensitive medical care, emotional support, and one-to-one counselling to anyone aged 13 and above who has been sexually assaulted.

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About

Sexual assault is any sexual contact that happens without your consent. It can happen to anyone, no matter their gender.It can include:

  • Sexual touching without consent
  • Pressuring someone into having sex
  • Forced kissing or touching
  • Forced sex

It’s never your fault. It doesn’t matter if you:

  • Drank alcohol or used drugs
  • Flirted with the person who sexually assaulted you
  • Were friends with the person who sexually assaulted you
  • Consented to some sexual activities, like kissing or making out
  • Consented to having sex with that person in the past
  • Changed your mind after you gave consent

Our service is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

​Our services include:

  • ​Assessment and treatment of injuries
  • Pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention
  • Counselling in the days to weeks after your hospital visit
  • Connections to health, legal and community-based support services
  • Forensic sample collection
  • Forensic report for police

​You can choose what care you receive. You choose if you want to report to the police.

We know that whatever happened, it was not your fault.

Sexual assault referral information

You do not need a referral. Residents and non-residents of BC – including visitors to Canada – can access our service, at no cost.

If you have been sexually assaulted within the past seven days, please call 911 or go directly to one of these hospitals:

You can bring a friend, family member or support person with you to the hospital. If you would like a support worker to accompany you to the hospital, contact:

Contact us

​Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Department 
920 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3Z6

​BC Children’s Hospital Emergency Department
4480 Oak Street, Entrance 55
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3V4

​UBC Hospital Emergency Department
Koerner Pavilion
2211 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC
V6T 2B5

You can reach the Sexual Assault Service counsellor at 604-875-3225 (phone only) and 604-313-9248 (phone and text), or through email: sascounselling@cw.bc.ca from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. -3 p.m.

If you are concerned a child is being sexually abused, call the 24-hour Helpline for Children toll-free at 310-1234 (no area code is required)​.

Your visit

When you arrive at the Emergency Department, ask for the Sexual Assault Service. The triage nurse will escort you to a safe, private room. Interpreters are available for those who need them.

Specially trained nurses and doctors will care for you in a safe and supportive environment. We will explain how we can help and will respond to any questions or concerns you might have. Our care team will offer you choices about your care. These choices include a check for injuries, preventative treatment for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, and/or forensic sample collection. You will decide what you would like our care team to do. We will respect your decisions.

Our care team will also give you information about your legal options. It is your choice whether to report the sexual assault to the police. We will support whatever decision you make. Whether you choose to make a report immediately or store the forensic samples, our care team can collect forensic samples and summarize our findings in a forensic report.

​After your visit

Our care team will give you information about commonly experienced feelings, thoughts and responses to sexual assault. We will also give you some recommendations for follow-up medical care.

If you have consented to it, our counsellor will call you within a week to answer any of your questions and offer you one-to-one counselling. You can also call the counsellor at any time if you want support or to book an appointment.

If you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else, please go to your local hospital's emergency department for care or call the local crisis line at 1-800-784-2433.

Additional information and supports

We work closely with a wide range of organizations to provide services to people who have experienced a recent sexual assault.

If you were assaulted more than seven days ago, you can get medical care for physical and mental health concerns from your own doctor or nurse practitioner, a local community health clinic, walk-in clinics and youth clinics.

For ongoing counselling support, or questions about the legal system, contact Victim Link BC at 1-800-563-0808.

In Vancouver, contact Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre at 604-255-6344.

At UBC, you can contact AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre at 604-827-5180 or the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office at 604-822-1588.

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