What happens when sexual violence survivors (of all genders) reach out to the Sexual Assault Care Centre? Here are the basic steps:
Step One: Contact
However you choose to contact SACC, a trained volunteer or staff will provide you with a listening ear and share more about our services.
Based on your needs and our service capacity, we will work with you to help you with your next steps, which may include making internal or external referrals and providing you with relevant resources.
SACC Helpline: 6779 0282, Mon – Fri, 10am – 6pm
If the line is busy, or there is no answer, please leave a message.
Email: sacc@aware.org.sg
We’ll respond to your email within three working days.
SACC Online Chat
Click here to schedule a Chat appointment.
Step Two: Internal Referrals for Various Services
If SACC services are best suited to your needs, a member of the staff will reach out to you within five working days to register you for the relevant service. Here is more information on each service.
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Case Management: A case manager provides trauma-informed support, explores your options, and develops a safety plan or action plan suited to your needs. She will also help you develop short-term coping skills and identify internal and external resources that would benefit you. | 
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Please note that SACC is not a crisis centre. As such, it may take some time for us to process your request for services. Turnaround times differ for different services, depending on the availability of our service providers (case managers, counsellors, lawyers, befrienders, etc). We seek your patience and understanding.
If you require immediate support, do take actions to prioritise your safety, such as calling the police at 999 in an emergency. If you have thoughts of hurting yourself, including thoughts of suicide, please call SOS at 1800 221 4444. (Our helpline can provide basic support, information and resources to navigate through your situation.)
SACC services are conducted in English only. If you are unable to speak English, or if you are referring someone who is unable to speak English, please consider reaching out to the National Anti-Violence Hotline at 1800 777 0000 (24/7 with services in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil).
Step Three: Share your experience with us
After accessing our services, we will send you an evaluation form to better understand what your experience has been with us. We welcome positive and negative feedback so as to improve our services and keep up with best practices of working with sexual assault survivors. You can also use this form to share your feedback about any of our services.
Support SACC
Help us continue SACC’s work to support sexual assault survivors in their journey of recovery. Your testimonials are crucial for us to raise funds and encourage other survivors to reach out for support. If you or someone you know has benefited from SACC services, please take five minutes to tell us about the experience here.
If you wish to give back so that SACC can continue to provide free services to sexual assault survivors, please donate here. We appreciate any amount of contribution to our centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay for SACC's services?
SACC counselling fees are based on a sliding scale. As of 1 July 2021, if your monthly salary is $3,000 and above, each session will cost 2% of your salary. (For example, if you earn $4,000 per month, your charge will be $80 per session.) If you are not working, or your salary is below $3,000, you will be charged a flat fee of $35 per session. Visit https://bit.ly/2PoLeGV for more information on the new fee structure.
If I approach SACC, will my case be reported to the police? Will my family find out?
We will never pressure you to take any actions. The decision to file a police report, or disclose what happened to your family and friends, is entirely up to you. SACC support is provided on a confidential basis. However, note that in certain situations—i.e. in which a minor is at risk of harm—we may have to notify authorities. Read the below “Confidentiality” section for more details.
My experience was not that bad. I don't want to take time away from more serious cases.
Every incident of sexual violence deserves to be taken seriously. You may feel inclined to minimise the experience and disregard its impact, but its effects may play out for you psychologically and emotionally in ways you don’t expect. We encourage all survivors to reach out whenever they can and begin their journey to recovery with the guidance and support of our team.
Confidentiality
Your safety matters to us
At SACC, we take confidentiality very seriously. All conversations you have with us will be kept confidential. However, in certain situations we may have to let local authorities, including police or Child Protective Services, know some of your information.
Such situations include the following examples:
- You have told SACC about a situation in which you or another person is unsafe, and we are unable to ensure your safety merely by listening and talking to you about safety options.
- You are a minor (a person under the age of 16) at risk of harm, or have let us know that a minor is at risk of harm, and we are unable to ensure safety.
- Legal requirements compel us to disclose what you have said to us – for example, if the police request access to your records.
Be assured that we take the above situations very seriously. Before we decide to break confidentiality, we give very serious consideration to the potential impact on you and any others involved. If we do have to break confidentiality, please be assured that we will work closely with you so that you remain safe and supported every step of the way.
For AWARE’s privacy policy, click here.
No Abuse Tolerated
We reserve the right to refuse our services to callers or clients who are abusive towards AWARE volunteers and staff. Abuse is any unwelcome, unwarranted and uninvited conduct or behaviour that discomfits, demeans, humiliates, insults, threatens, intimidates, alarms, distresses, offends, bullies, coerces, exploits or otherwise violates the dignity of another individual. This includes verbal and physical abuse, bullying, intimidation, stalking, unwelcome sexual attention and misogynist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic and ableist remarks.
