Who Rape Crisis England & Wales is#
Rape Crisis England & Wales is a feminist charity working to end sexual violence and abuse, and the membership body for 36 Rape Crisis centres. Each centre is an independent organisation that meets national service standards. All of them support women and girls; many also support men, boys and gender-diverse people, and the rest refer on. Most centres work with teenagers from 13, and many with younger children too. The movement behind it is about fifty years old.
The Support Line and local centres#
The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is free by phone or online chat, every hour of every day, for anyone aged 16 or over in England or Wales who has been affected by sexual violence, abuse or harassment, however long ago, and for people supporting them. Calls last up to 40 minutes and chats up to 45. Phone calls can use an interpreter, there is a BSL video service, and information about the line is published in 24 languages. Under-16s are pointed to a directory of services for young people.
The line's FAQs make privacy unusually clear. Giving your name or any contact details is optional, and staff never ask about immigration status. Calls are not recorded, and chat transcripts are deleted after 30 days.
For longer-term help such as counselling or an independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA), find your local centre and contact it directly; some areas have none, and counselling can have a waiting list. Each page carries a Leave this site button, and a guide explains how to clear traces of your browsing.
Reporting, advocacy and keeping records private#
The charity publishes nothing on changing your name. Its guidance on reporting to the police stresses that the choice is yours, that you can usually give a recorded statement with someone from a centre present, and that a case can take two years or more. An ISVA can support you whether or not you report.
It campaigned on the privacy of counselling notes, and says that since 12 January 2026 the police and prosecutors can ask for them only where they have substantial value as evidence, with sign-off at chief inspector level.
Does a new name keep you out of the news?#
It is not needed for that. Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, once an allegation of a sexual offence is made, nothing likely to identify the complainant, including their name, address, school, workplace or picture, may be published during their lifetime. That protection follows you whichever name you use.
A new name is still a choice some survivors make, for distance from the past or from the person who harmed them. If that is you, think about timing with your ISVA if a case is running, since statements and court papers carry the name you gave the police. The records that keep a former name are listed separately, and choosing a new name covers the practical side. For services outside the Rape Crisis network, see The Survivors Trust.
This page describes what Rape Crisis England & Wales publishes on its own websites, read on 26 October 2026. Rape Crisis England & Wales has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
