1. Ensure your friend is at a safe location away from the perpetrator. If not, take him or her to a safe place.
2. If there is an immediate threat to the victim's safety, contact military law enforcement or local police immediately. Protect the victim from the perpetrator and others acting on the perpetrator's behalf.
3. Ask if your friend would like to seek medical care. If the victim requires emergency medical care, call 911 or your installation's emergency medical care services. If the victim requires less than emergency care, help him or her get to a medical provider as soon as possible.
4. Encourage your friend to report the incident to a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) or Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Victim Advocate (SAPR VA). You may also contact the SARC for information. Be supportive but allow your friend to make the decisions about what services he or she would like to access.
   • MTNG SAPR 24/7 Hotline - 406-465-9928
   • Contact DoD Safe Helpline for live, one-on-one support and information. The service is confidential, anonymous, secure, and available worldwide, 24/7 by click, call or text - providing victims with the help they need anytime, anywhere:
     Safe Helpline: 1-877-995-5247
   • SARCs and/or SAPR VAs are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week at every military installation.
   • SARCs and SAPR VAs can inform the victim of the medical, legal and spiritual resources available, both on and off base. They can also help arrange for these services and a sexual assault forensic examination, if the victim so desires.
5. Other than safety and health-related questions, refrain from asking your friend for details about the incident.
6. Military members usually have two options how to report the crime. Both reporting options allow the victim the services of a SARC, SAPR VA, and SVC/VLC, and medical care.
7. Military members usually have an option about how to report the crime.
   • Unrestricted Reports allow the victim to participate in the military criminal justice process.
   • Restricted Reports are kept confidential, and command and law enforcement are not notified.
   • To understand the differences between Restricted and Unrestricted Reporting, see a sample response flowchart here.
   • NOTE: When the victim reports the crime to someone in the chain of command or confides in another person, a Restricted Report may no longer be an option. If you are in the individual's chain of command, you may have to report the matter. Please see your SARC or SAPR VA for more guidance.
8. Assist your friend with getting to the SARC, SAPR VA and/or medical care, if your friend so desires.
• If your friend decides to file an Unrestricted Report, the victim should know that there is support during each phase of the medical, investigative, and legal processes. Both Unrestricted and Restricted reporting options allow the victim the services of a SARC, SAPR VA, and SVC/VLC, and medical care.
• Offer to stay with your friend. Victims are often reluctant to be alone after a frightening ordeal. Accompany your friend to the hospital or other places if he or she so desires.
• Be a good listener. Avoid being judgmental, keep from second-guessing and resist placing any blame on him or her. Simply listen and accept what he or she says.
• There is no "right" or "wrong" way to recover from a sexual assault. However, there are unhelpful or self-destructive ways of coping. Alcohol abuse, drug use, suicidal statements or increased behaviors with unhealthy outcomes (unprotected and/or anonymous sex, gambling, smoking, overeating, etc.) are sometimes warning signs that your friend could benefit from professional help. Don't be afraid to suggest that your friend might need advice from someone skilled to help him or her with more productive coping strategies.
• The Safe Helpline Mobile App provides self-care strategies and doesn't need an internet connection once anonymously downloaded; especially helpful for those deployed in places where an internet connection is minimally available.
• Restricted Reports provides self-care strategies and doesn't need an internet connection once anonymously downloaded; especially helpful for those deployed in places where an internet connection is minimally available.
• Continue to offer support. The recovery journey takes time, patience and continued support.

How to Support the Victim:

1. Ensure the victim's safety. Check if the victim is in a safe location away from the alleged perpetrator. If the victim is not in a safe place, help the victim get to a safe location immediately.
2. If there is an immediate threat to the victim's safety, contact military law enforcement or local police immediately. Protect the victim from the perpetrator and others acting on the perpetrator's behalf.
3. Ask if the victim would like to seek medical care. If the victim requires emergency medical care, call 911 or your installation's emergency medical care services. If the victim requires less than emergency care, help him or her get to a medical provider as soon as possible.
4. Encourage the victim to report the incident to a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) or Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Victim Advocate (SAPR VA). You may also contact the SARC for information. Be supportive but allow the victim to make the decisions about what services he or she would like to access.
   • MTNG SAPR 24/7 Hotline - 406-465-9928
   • Contact DoD Safe Helpline for live, one-on-one support and information. The service is confidential, anonymous, secure, and available worldwide, 24/7 by click, call or text - providing victims with the help they need anytime, anywhere:
     Safe Helpline: 1-877-995-5247
   • SARCs and/or SAPR VAs are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week at every military installation.
   • SARCs and SAPR VAs can inform the victim of the medical, legal and spiritual resources available, both on and off base. They can also help arrange for these services and a sexual assault forensic examination, if the victim so desires.
5. Other than safety and health-related questions, refrain from asking the victim for details about the incident.
6. Military members usually have two options how to report the crime. Both reporting options allow the victim the services of a SARC, SAPR VA, and SVC/VLC, and medical care.
   • Unrestricted Reports allow the victim to participate in the military criminal justice process.
   • Restricted Reports are kept confidential, and command and law enforcement are not notified.
   • To understand the differences between Restricted and Unrestricted Reporting, see a sample response flowchart here.
7. Assist the victim with getting to the SARC, SAPR VA and/or medical care, if the victim so desires.
• If the victim decides to file an Unrestricted Report, the victim should know that there is support during each phase of the medical, investigative, and legal processes. Both Unrestricted and Restricted reporting options allow the victim the services of a SARC, SAPR VA, and SVC/VLC, and medical care.