Treatment After Sexual Assault

• If you have been sexually assaulted, you should be examined and treated for sexually transmitted diseases with antibiotics. See a health care provider as soon as possible and get checked again in 2 weeks to make sure that no sexually transmitted diseases have developed.



• Most women are given emergency contraception in the form of birth control pills that decrease the chance that pregnancy will result from the assault.



• You may be treated for hepatitis B infection if the assailant is likely to have had hepatitis (a series of shots over 2 months).



• You will be tested for AIDS and pregnancy (for women). AIDS testing should be repeated every 3 months for 6 months. If it has been 6 months and you have not had a positive HIV test, it is not likely that any infection occurred or will occur.



• You should get counseling, and the incident should be discussed. Sexual assault is an awful experience. The goal for all victims is to recover and put the bad event behind them.