Advice for rape victim, please

[sunflower50]

My friend's teenage DD was raped recently. The rapist then 'groomed' her into continuing to have a relationship with him. They have since split up and she is going through hell, trying to come to terms with what happened. She and her mum have phoned a rape crisis line and also attended a clinic, but the phone call wasn't answered and the clinic was shut.

Does anyone here know what the best course of action is? I wondered if they should contact the police, even if the girl is not willing to press charges, as they are now trained to support victims and it might even lead to him having it noted on police records. Apparently, he has been reported for this before.

Both the girl and her mum desperately need support with this.

Poor girl.

If she or her mother have contacted Rape Crisis, then they should hear back from them, and they should also be able to contact Rape Crisis by email. Once she has managed to make contact, she should be able to talk at length to someone.

I think that's what she needs to do, rather than being advised or directed from elsewhere, since that way she should be given information that she needs. Rape Crisis will not tell her what to do, nor will they 'encourage' her to do something she's not comfortable with. They should support and inform her, though.

I hope she gets the support that she needs.

Thanks, July. I've passed on your advice. I feel so sorry for the girl and for her mum.

Update: the girl has gone to the police and she is going to press charges. She is being incredibly brave.

If she can't get hold of rape crisis the place to go is her nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

They have therapists there she can talk to.

What an amazing girl. She is being incredibly strong. I hope she gets the support and care that she deserves. Rape Crisis are amazing and definitely worth emailing.

Thanks for the advice. I'll pass it all on to her mum. I have been deliberately sparing in the details I've given, but it is clear that the man planned what happened and is extremely dangerous. The girl doesn't want him to do it to anyone else.

I'm glad that the man involved is going to get the shock of his life when the police turn up on his doorstep to take him in for questioning.

Can you ask the family doctor for a CAMHS referral?

I worked for one team who dealt with this a lot.

Good for her

Thanks, Twinkie, but the family have had very negative experiences with CAMHS so they won't want to go back to them.