South Yorkshire Sexual Assault Referral Centre
The South Yorkshire Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) opened its doors to victims of sexual assault in April 2016. The SARC is funded by the SYMCA and is based in Sheffield.
Hackenthorpe Lodge SARC offers free, confidential healthcare and compassionate support to people aged 16 and above in South Yorkshire that has experienced sexual assault or rape in their lifetime.
The service is completely confidential and you do not have to give any personal information to get help. If you would like to speak to someone, they are available 24/7 on 0330 223 0938, or send a message using the Contact Page.

What to expect from the SARC
Making Contact
We cannot offer a drop-in service at Hackenthorpe Lodge so please let us know you are coming. You can phone us or use the contacts page to send us a message to get in touch with you. If you don’t want to you do not have to tell us your name, we can still offer you the same help. Depending on what your needs are we will either arrange a time which you can come to Hackenthorpe Lodge and meet with us or help you to make contact with other services that may be beneficial. We may ask you to come and see us quickly in some cases to make sure you receive important healthcare as a priority. If you choose to involve the police, then they will contact Hackenthorpe Lodge on your behalf.
Talking through your options
We will go over a few questions and talk through the available options again to make sure that you understand and are comfortable with everything. You can choose to use as much or as little of the service as you want to. It’s ok if you change your mind at any point we are here to support your choices. You can ask as many questions as you like at any time. Everything you tell us is treated in confidence. We understand that this can be a very difficult process and we will do whatever we can to help you through it during and after your visit to Hackenthorpe Lodge. Sometimes we have to inform other agencies if children or others may be at risk. We will always seek your permission to share information.
Arriving at Hackenthorpe Lodge
We will be there to meet you when you arrive for your appointment at Hackenthorpe Lodge, from your initial conversation with us you will know how to get there and who you are meeting with. You are welcome to bring somebody with you to support you if that makes you feel more comfortable. If you have asked for the police to be involved, they will usually bring you to Hackenthorpe Lodge after contacting us first.
Medical Examination
If something has happened within the last 7 days we will give you the option to have an examination, which can help to preserve any evidence. We can offer this even if you don’t want to involve the police at the moment but feel that you might want to in the future. The examination will be carried out by specially trained female medical examiners, and you will be supported by one of our crisis workers throughout. Each stage will be explained to you beforehand so you are clear what they are for and we will ensure that you agree to everything before it is carried out. You can stop or pause at any point.
Medical care
We can discuss your emergency contraception needs. The sooner the emergency contraception pill is taken after sex, the more successful is. Therefore, this is available if required.
You might be at risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection. Our team are able to provide immediate sexual healthcare advice and can give you information on how to be screened for these infections.
Next steps
Whether you choose to have an examination or not, our support staff will be able to talk you through the other services that we can refer you to. This will ensure that you have ongoing support after your visit to Hackenthorpe Lodge.
We want to know how you are getting on after your visit to Hackenthorpe Lodge and we understand that you might have questions after you have left.
You can call us at any time if there is something you think of that you need to ask us, we will also call you six weeks after your visit to see how things have been for you and to find out if there is anything else we can do to help.
If you’ve been raped or sexually assaulted, South Yorkshire Police are here for you. When you’re ready, you can report rape and sexual assault online.



