I don't want to talk to the police but what else can I do?

There are many pathways to healing from a sexual assault that do not involve police. We understand you may not always want to tell us what happened to you – that is okay. We are here to listen if you change your mind.

Personal support networks

It takes courage to talk to anyone about being sexually assaulted. Having a healthy support network is a useful way to help you heal from sexual assault. A good support network can include close friends, family members, neighbours, and colleagues who you can turn to for help and advice.

Talking to sexual assault support services

Speaking with a counsellor or other support person from a specialised sexual assault service can be a useful healing strategy. You can access support services without having contacted or made a report to police. There are a range of organisations who offer a variety of services including over-the-phone or in-person counselling. There are also services aimed specifically at supporting:

• People who are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
• First Nations peoples
• Men affected by sexual assault
• People who experience sexual violence by their partner
• Those who identify as LGBTQIA+
• People with disabilities

You can find out more by visiting our support services page.

Alternative Reporting Options (ARO)

Alternative Reporting Options (ARO) can be useful for victim-survivors of sexual assault and is a voluntary process. ARO gives the victim-survivor an option to tell police what happened to them without the police investigating or the matter going to court. Victim-survivors have many reasons for not officially reporting crimes of sexual violence.

ARO gives the victim-survivor the option of remaining anonymous if they wish. We use information from ARO to help other prosecutions and solve reported incidents that are similar in nature.

Even if you tell police about what happened to you through ARO, you can still tell police you want them to investigate it later if you change your mind.

Find more information on ARO through our Alternative Reporting Option page.

What if I decide to report to police later on?

People who have been sexually assaulted may not want to speak with police soon after it has happened. We understand that there are many reasons for this, and that it may take time for people to want to talk about it.

People who have been assaulted and want to make a complaint some time afterwards (this can be weeks, months, or years later) can still tell police. This is called a historical investigation. You can find more information on our historical sexual assaults page.

I want to know more about how QPS would do an investigation before I decide to speak with police

We understand you may want to know more about what the investigation process looks like before you decide to tell police what happened to you. Each investigation is different, but you can read about the broader process on our police investigations page.