External support

The Hazlehurst Centre SARC offers a comprehensive service for anyone living in West Yorkshire, who has experienced sexual violence or sexual abuse. You can access The Hazlehurst Centre via the Police and other professionals, as well as via the self-referral pathway (booking an appointment at the SARC, without Police involvement).

At the SARC, you will be offered support and guidance, a medical assessment/treatment, a forensic examination, and the opportunity of aftercare referrals for support services. You will be offered these services based on your individual needs and can choose to use as much or as little of their service as you wish.

You can contact the SARC for support at any point after the incident has happened, but a forensic examination will only be offered within seven working days of the incident. Forensic examinations can help to preserve any evidence. They 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.

You will need an appointment before going to the centre and the team can normally arrange for you to visit within 24-48 hours, so you won't have to wait long.

Please call them on 0330 223 3617 or email them at hazlehurstcentre.sarc@nhs.net.

SARCs outside of West Yorkshire

If you are not in West Yorkshire, then you can find your local SARC via the NHS website.

SARSVL is a specialist service in the city. This is the main specialist charity in Leeds supporting women who have faced sexual violence. They define sexual violence as a continuum which starts from verbal misogynistic harassment or "banter", to unwanted touching, to rape. They have a number of ways you can engage with them. They run a helpline where they provide advice and emotional support. You can find out more about their service and how to contact them here.

Victim Support is there to help anyone affected by crime.

It doesn't matter when the crime took place, or whether you've reported it to the police. You can help at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They are independent from the police, and the support is free and confidential.

Galop is the UK's LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse, violence, and sexual violence. You can refer yourself via the Galop website. Alternatively, you can call their national helpline on 0800 999 5428.

LDVS supports all people in Leeds who are affected by domestic violence and abuse to understand their experience and get support. You can contact Leeds Domestic Violence Service using the details below:

• 24-hour helpline: 0113 246 0401
• National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247
• National Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327

The Clare's Law campaign was launched to encourage anyone with concerns about their current or ex-partner to use their 'right to ask' to check whether they have a history of domestic abuse. Applications are handled with the utmost confidentiality. Should you wish to submit a Clare's Law application you can do so via the form below.

Leeds Women's Aid (LWA) is an independent charity providing services to women and children affected by Domestic Violence and Abuse. They can support women who are victims and survivors of domestic, sexual & honour based violence and abuse, forced marriage, trafficking, stalking, and harassment. They can assist with emergency refuge accommodation, therapeutic support, and Independent Domestic Violence Advocate support. Their 24 hour helpline is available at 0113 246 0401, or access their live chat via their website.

Behind Closed Doors is a Leeds-based service providing end-to-end support, from the point of crisis to recovery. Their community team, which is part of Leeds Domestic Violence Service can offer immediate an practical help and support to reduce risks of harm from relationships. They can help with police, legal, or court related issues, find new housing or access emergency refuge accommodation, and support with social care involvement and meetings. Their helpline can be accessed via 0113 246 0401.

Karma Nirvana are a specialist charity dedicated to supporting those who are experiencing Honour Based Abuse or facing a forced marriage. They run a safe, free confidential helpline: 0800 5999 247, which is available Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. They have a number of resources available on their website, which can be accessed on their website.

The forced marriage unit has been set up to support those looking to stop a forced marriage, or those needing help leaving a marriage they have been forced into. They can be contacted by email or via their helpline at 020 7008 0151. Their out of hours number is 020 7008 5000 and overseas number is +44 (0)20 7008 0151

The Suzy Lamplugh trust provides a wide range of personal safety resources in relation to staying safe online, while travelling, or at home/university. You can find their guides on their Personal Safety & Lone Working Advice website.

The trust also run a free helpline. If you call the helpline an Adviser will explain their confidentiality policy to you and ask for details about what has been happening to you so that they can provide tailored advice and guidance.

0808 802 0300

• 09:30 - 20:00, Monday and Wednesday
• 09:30 - 16:00, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Paladin is a non profit organisation that provides trauma informed support, advice and advocacy to victims of stalking and have a trained team of Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworkers. You can find more information about their organisation on their website or you can get in touch with them on 020 3866 4107. Their website contains information about effective gathering of evidence and practical steps to increase safety.

Hollie Guard is a personal safety app which has free and paid-for versions. You can create pre-defined emergency contacts, and if you're in a position where you feel unsafe, you can hold down the hexagon button within the app which sets off an alert and activates the phone's camera and microphone, sending a message and recording to your emergency contacts. Your emergency contacts can access this recording in real time, as well as being saved in the cloud for later use. There's also a 'journey' feature, where it allows you to set a start and end point for a journey, with the app automatically monitoring your journey and alerting your nominated contacts once you safely arrive or trigger an alert. You can find more information about it and download the app on their website.

The National Stalking Helpline is a resource offering advice and help, as well as a telephone and email service. You can reach them via telephone at 0808 802 0300 between 09:30-20:00 Monday and Wednesday, and 09:30-16:00 Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

CST is a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism. They have an office based in Leeds, and a dedicated team that deals with antisemitic incidents and provides victim support, while respecting confidentiality at all times. CST can liaise with the police and other bodies to help ensure that any incident id dealt with properly. 

CST's dedicated Student Helpline gives immediate, real-time support to students across the UK who are experiencing antisemitism.

This helpline reaffirms CST’s commitment to protecting Jewish students on campus enhancing their safety and wellbeing. The helpline will be a direct point of contact for students with CST and our many partners, offering confidential support, guidance, and access to specialist care whenever it is needed.

• Anyone can report via their website or call 08000 323263 for the National Emergency Number (24hr) after calling the police
• Students can report via their dedicated Student Helpline (24hr): 07578 201 999

Tell MAMA is an independent, non-governmental organisation which works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred. Tell MAMA provides counselling support to victims of anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia as well as casework, emotional support legal signposting, advocacy, and court attendance support.

You can access the service via email or complete a contact form via their website.

You can report to Tell MAMA directly via telephone at 088 456 1226.

True Vision is an online non-emergency reporting form that allows students to report to the police without having to call or visit a local police station. The online report will be forwarded immediately to the relevant police force for investigation, but it may not receive attention for several hours. You can report a hate crime via True Vision on the Police website.

Stop Hate UK is an organisation that can provide reporting and supporting options for anyone experiencing hate crime and discrimination. They provide a helpline service, which is 100% confidential and independent. They will never take anything to the police unless that is what the student wishes to do, and Stop Hate UK will support with reporting to the police.

You can report via their website or call the helpline on 0800 138 1625 (Leeds)