What to do when you have experienced sexual harm , Me aha koe ki te wheako koe i te pāwheratanga

If sexual harm has just happened

If an incident of sexual harm has just happened, the most important thing is to get to safety and find support. Support can be from friends, flatmates, family and whānau, or services like Massey Student Health.

You can also get free counselling over the phone or text message, from services external to Massey. Many of these are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Find out what professional support services are available

Call Campus Security

If you're on campus, you can call Campus Security on 0800 627 750.

If you are in Massey accommodation, you can also call your Duty Residential Assistant. 

Contact Massey Accommodation

Call the Police or an ambulance

It is your choice whether you call the Police on 111 and report the assault. 

If you have been physically harmed you may need to go to the hospital emergency room. You can call a free ambulance on 111. The hospital can call the Police at your request.

Immediately following an incident of sexual assault Police may need to preserve forensic evidence. They ask that you:

• don't shower or wash as that may destroy evidence
• try to avoid going to the toilet as that may also destroy evidence
• don't wash or throw away the clothing you were wearing during the assault, this may also be used as evidence
• don't tidy up or move things in the place where the assault occurred.

If you experienced sexual harm in the past

It can take time to come to terms with sexual harm. You can get support from Massey and external services even when the harm happened a long time ago. Reporting sexual harm helps Massey and the Police gain a full picture of what happened, and what might still be happening. It can help make Massey a safer place for everyone.

There are many reasons why survivors do not report sexual harm right away, or even realise immediately that they have been harmed. These reasons include fear of coming forward, fear of not being believed, desire to forget it, and not realising until you're older that what happened to you was not okay.

You can disclose or formally report sexual harm to Massey at any time and receive support and guidance on your options, including guidance on the formal reporting process itself. Massey takes a survivor-led approach in all situations so nothing will happen without your full involvement.