If you are thinking about reporting sexual abuse or assault, you have options. You can go to the police, file a complaint with an institution, file a civil lawsuit, or get support without filing anything at all. None of these are required, and you do not have to choose just one.
Here is what each option involves so you can decide what makes sense for you.
Do You Have to Report?
You are not legally required to report sexual abuse or assault. The decision is yours.
Many survivors report right away. For others, it takes months, years, or decades to come forward. What feels right depends on your safety, your privacy, and where you are in your healing.
Getting medical care does not require reporting either. A forensic medical exam, sometimes called a sexual assault exam, can collect evidence and address your health concerns without involving law enforcement. You can have the exam done and decide later whether you want to take any further steps.
How Do You Report Sexual Abuse to the Police?
If you choose to go to the police, you can call your local department or visit a station to file a report. Officers will take a statement and may begin an investigation. The investigation can include collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and reviewing any records or messages connected to what happened.
If investigators believe there is enough evidence, the case goes to a prosecutor. The prosecutor decides whether to file criminal charges. Once a case is in the criminal system, the prosecutor and the court guide it forward.
Outcomes depend on the evidence available, the timing of the report, and the legal standards that apply. RAINN has more on what to expect when reporting to law enforcement.
How Do You Report to an Institution or Licensing Board?
If the person who hurt you was acting in a professional or institutional role, you may be able to file a complaint with the institution itself or the body that licenses them.
A few examples:
For a doctor, you can file with the state medical board
For abuse in a school or workplace, you can use the internal reporting system
For a member of the clergy, you can report to the religious institution and to civil authorities
Institutional reports look at whether the person violated policies or professional standards. The outcome can include internal discipline, suspension, firing, or loss of a professional license.
You can pursue this path alongside others. Many survivors file with a licensing board while also pursuing a civil case.
How Does a Civil Lawsuit Work?
A civil lawsuit focuses on accountability and compensation. You can file one whether or not you also report to the police.
In a civil case, you work with an attorney to bring the claim. Your case can be filed against the person who abused you and against any institutions that contributed to the harm, like an employer, school, or organization that ignored complaints. You can read more about how compensation works in civil cases to understand what survivors recover.
Timing matters. Statutes of limitations set deadlines for filing, and those deadlines vary depending on where you are and what happened. New York has expanded those deadlines for survivors of sexual abuse.
Cases like the lawsuits against Major Blaine McGraw and Dr. Babak Hajhosseini show how civil cases can hold both individuals and the institutions around them accountable.
What Happens After You Report?
What happens next depends on the kind of report you make.
A police report opens a criminal investigation. Officers may interview you and gather evidence, and if a prosecutor files charges, the case moves through criminal court.
An institutional report opens an internal investigation. The organization reviews records, interviews people involved, and decides whether its policies were violated.
A civil case usually starts with an attorney reviewing your situation and gathering records. If a lawsuit is filed, both sides exchange information through discovery, and the case may end in a settlement or go to trial.
You can have a criminal case, an institutional complaint, and a civil lawsuit all moving forward at the same time. Each one runs through its own system and reaches its own outcome.
Where Can You Find Support if You Don't Want to File a Report?
Support is available whether or not you make any kind of report. The RAINN national hotline and online chat connects survivors with trained advocates around the clock. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center also has information and local resources for survivors.
These services are confidential, and reaching out does not commit you to filing anything or pursuing legal action.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Reporting Options
If you want to know whether you have a civil case, a confidential case review is a private conversation where an attorney can listen to what happened, explain how the law applies to your situation, and walk you through what your next steps could look like.
Fill out our online form for a free, confidential case review with Help Law Group.