Welcome.
You’re here because you care about getting support for your friend — or yourself. The experience of sexual violence is a challenging, thorny situation, but help is here. This site is a way for you to find support right away. You and your friend are not alone.
"My friend told me, and I encouraged them to tell an adult. Although it is important to rely on friends, no one can carry a heavy burden or act as a friend's therapist."
- A young person, to whom a friend has told about sexual violence.
You've Come To The Right Place!
On this page, you can find information and tips on how to help and support your friend who has experienced sexual harassment, grooming or sexual violence (when talking about these on the website, we use the term sexual violence). Having relevant information helps you act in challenging situations.
Whether you or someone you know has experienced something, there are resources available to help. You and your friend are not alone.
We are glad you came to this site. It shows that you care about finding support for yourself or your friend. We know this is a difficult topic, and this site can help you find support right away.
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Important For Teachers & Caregivers.
Most sexual violence suffered by children ends up not being reported to safe adults, and it is well known that there are many barriers to reporting childhood sexual violence. A big one is that kids often don’t have access to age-appropriate information and may not realize that adults care about them and can help them.
A child’s grownups who engage with them every day — their caregivers, their teachers — are essential to ensuring that child’s well-being and safety. And this means not only in the physical environments of home, school and community, but also online. As technology develops and new risks emerge, we need more effective ways to prevent online and offline harms against children. Age-appropriate information for kids and the presence of safe adults in their lives (and reachable online) can help prevent sexual offenses against children.
Friends Supporting Friends.
Fact: Sexual harassment and abuse happen all the time — and way too often to kids.
What do you do if you’ve gone through something like that? Who do you tell?
For most kids, the first person they tell is a friend. That makes both of you superheroes — your friend for their courage in telling you, and you for being a safe space for tough secrets.
But what happens next? How do you get help?
This site is here to give you some tools.
You’ll learn how to find support and tell a safe adult. You’ll find information and tips on how to help and support your friend who has experienced sexual violence — which, by the way, includes harassment and grooming as well as physical violence.
How to use this site:
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If you need immediate help, click here.
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If you need to leave this page quickly, click the Quick Exit button at the top of the page.
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If you want to learn more about how to find support, please read more
Safety Is Our Top Priority
If you suspect that your friend or anyone else is in immediate danger of becoming a victim of sexual violence, this is a safe place where you can reach out to us for help.
Remember
Encourage your friend to tell an adult about what happened! Sexual violence is never the victim's fault. Only the perpetrator deserves to feel guilt and shame. Not telling adults never helps the situation. It only helps the perpetrator hide their actions.
Important To Know
It is a crime to share a nude picture of another minor — in most states, a minor is anyone 18 and under. It can feel scary to have this happen to you, but remember: The only person who did something wrong is the person who shared someone else's nude. And help is here.
Remember
Although talking about sexual violence may feel hard, keeping it secret from a safe adult can often make things worse and keep you or your friend from getting help. You or your friend can be OK again, and getting a safe adult on your side will get you there quicker.
Encourage your friend to tell an adult about what happened!
Sexual violence is never your fault. The responsibility always lies on the perpetrator of sexual violence.
Not telling safe adults never helps the situation. It only helps the perpetrator of sexual violence hide their actions.
"My friend told me, and I encouraged them to tell an adult. Although it is important to rely on friends, no one can carry a heavy burden or act as a friend's therapist." - A young person, to whom a friend has told about sexual violence.
