Getting help after sexual assault
The Sexual Assault Center helps people after assault or rape. Call the centre as soon as possible after assault or rape. We will answer your questions and give advice and help. Various carers work together to provide good care. All professionals abide by their obligation to respect confidentiality. You can still contact the center even if you do not want to report the crime officially
Sexual Assault Center Limburg
0800 0188
- Available 24 hours a day
- free national telephone number of the Sexual Assault Center
- you will be connected with Sexual Assault Center Limburg
What you should and should not do
What you should and should not do
You should call the centre as soon as possible if you have been raped or assaulted. Your call will be answered by someone who will ask you a few questions so they can give you the best possible help. If this person asks you to come to the centre immediately, then it is important to do the following:
- Do not eat or drink anything
- Do not go to the toilet
- Do not take a shower or wash yourself
- Change nothing about the place where it happened
- Do not put the clothes you were wearing in the laundry basket or washing machine, just leave them as they were
- Do not get changed if you still have the same clothes on, but bring a clean set of clothes with you to the centre
Physical consequences
Physical consequences
If you have been assaulted or raped, you could pick up a sexually transmitted disease (STI), e.g., chlamydia or HIV. Women also run the risk of becoming pregnant. This is why it is important that you receive the right assistance quickly. Contact the Sexual Assault Center.
Risk of HIV?
Risk of HIV?
If you have had unsafe sex with a person who is (or may be) infected with HIV, then you too are at risk of being infected with HIV. A course of treatment would reduce your chance of being HIV-positive. This course is known as PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). PEP involves four weeks of treatment with HIV-inhibitors.
Starting quickly is important: within 72 hours after you had unsafe sex.
Do you think you are eligible for PEP? If so, contact us immediately by phone. Unable to reach us? In that case, contact the nearest emergency care department, preferably one with an HIV treatment centre. In the Limburg region, this is Maastricht University Medical Centre.