Guidance

Information for victims of rape and sexual assault in El Salvador

Published 26 April 2022

This information is provided to help British nationals overseas make decisions about whether and how to seek medical advice and attention; report to local police; and engage with foreign legal authorities following a rape or other form of sexual assault overseas. For information on support available in the UK, see Rape and Sexual Assault: Returning to the UK

1. First steps

It is your choice about what you do next, but this information may help you in coming to a decision. The most important thing is to make sure that you are as safe as you can be. Where to get help:

• contact the local emergency services by dialling 911 (Police or for an ambulance)
• You can dial directly to the Attorney General of the Republic (Fiscalía General de la República, in Spanish) by dialling (503) 2593 7000.
• contact your tour operator if you are travelling with one
• Contact the British Embassy in El Salvador, (the British Embassy in San Salvador provides consular assistance to British nationals visiting and/or residing in El Salvador with the help of an Honorary Consul based in El Salvador).

Embassy staff will be polite, patient, sensitive and non-judgmental, and can provide information on local police and medical procedures. Anything you tell them will be treated in the strictest confidence. They can contact your family or friends for you if you wish.

2. Reporting the incident to the police in El Salvador

You must report the crime in El Salvador before returning to the UK if you want it to be investigated.

If you choose to report the crime, try to do so as soon as you can, so that forensic evidence can be retained.

Washing yourself or your clothes may make it more difficult for the police to obtain forensic evidence. If you change your clothes, consider taking those you were wearing to the police.

You may wish to preserve evidence by retaining items such as condoms, toothbrushes, and mobile phone texts.

If you are travelling with a tour operator, you can report the incident to your tour operator and ask them for assistance. Where possible and if you wish, the tour operator may accompany you to the police and to the local hospital. If you do not have a tour operator and you are in an area where there is a British embassy/Honorary Consulate, they will try wherever possible to send a consular officer to support you.

If you approach the police or the Attorney General of the Republic directly yourself, you may want to ask them to inform the British Embassy in San Salvador (502) 2380 7300 (24 hours service/7 days a week), which will enable the embassy to provide you with consular support. A list of police stations in El Salvador is available.

You can also go to the Attorney General of the Republic (which is the Prosecutor’s Office, “Fiscalía General de la República”, in Spanish). You can find the nearest office online. You can also ask them to inform the British Embassy in San Salvador by calling (502) 2380 7300.

Tell the police or the Attorney General’s office if you think you have been drugged.

At the police station or Attorney General’s office you can:

• request a female officer, if that is your preference, though one may not always be available
• you have the right to have an interpreter present, this must be provided free of charge
• insist you get a copy of the police report - this is usually provided as it is one of your rights to receive a copy

We can accompany you to the police station or to the Attorney General’s office and help you with the above. We can also be with you during the interview, however, we cannot act as interpreter.

The police or the Attorney General’s office will take a copy of your passport and return it to you. Usually, you will not have to surrender it during the investigation. However, the retention of passports or identity documents will depend on each particular case and in the case that it is exclusively necessary.

You must report the crime while you are in El Salvador and in the city where the incident happened for it to be investigated.

It is your choice on whether to report the crime, but if you don’t report it, your case may not be investigated if there is a lack of forensic evidence.

3. If you do not want to report the incident to the police in El Salvador

The British Embassy can still help you. This includes helping you make arrangements to contact your insurance company, your family, travel back to the UK and/or provide you with information on local support in the UK. They can provide you with lists of English-speaking medical facilities, lawyers and translators.

• list of medical facilities in El Salvador
• list of interpreters in El Salvador

Your tour operator, if you are travelling with one, can also provide you with assistance, by accompanying you to the local hospital or medical facility.

If you decide not to report the crime to the local police or to the Attorney General’s office (Fiscalia General de la República, in Spanish), a forensic exam will not be carried out. You will still be able to get medical attention and you should go to the nearest hospital, local doctor or gynaecologist.

4. Reporting the incident to the police in the UK

It is possible to report the crime to the police in the UK. However, it is for foreign police forces to decide whether to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction. UK police forces cannot investigate crimes committed overseas. Foreign police forces can decide to request assistance from the UK police, but this cannot be guaranteed and is a very lengthy process. It can therefore be very difficult to guarantee that any justice can be accessed without firstly reporting the crime in El Salvador.

For more information read:

• Rape and Sexual Assault: Returning to the UK after rape or sexual assault abroad for more information.
• Victim of Crime Abroad.

5. Reporting the crime in El Salvador

You will have to make a statement about the incident including as much information as possible including a description of the attacker.

Evidence is important. You should try not to wash or shower, or to change or wash your clothes. The police/ the Attorney General’s office will keep any clothes which may be evidence of your attack to present to a forensic examiner.

Once the incident has been reported, local authorities will start an investigation. The Attorney General’s office will be responsible for the investigation.

The police will send you (or take you if they have the available personnel but this is not part of their duties) to the local state hospital or medical forensic clinic for a forensic medical examination. They will explain to you the need for a psychological evaluation and a medical examination. These two examinations are important part of the evidence-gathering process and are free.

If you are under 18, you must be accompanied by an adult throughout. Accompanying adults should be one of your parents or a guardian. If a state institution is responsible for you, they should appoint an adult to accompany you.

6. Attending a medical examination

Hospitals and medical centres treat victims of rape and sexual assault. If necessary, you may be referred to a regional hospital. If you do not wish to report the crime, you can have a medical examination at a hospital, though forensic evidence will not be collected.

Please note that hospitals and other medical centres are required to report any sexual assaults to the local Police.

When you report a sexual assault, the Forensic experts will perform the psychological evaluation and a physical and gynaecological examination. Photographs and videos may be taken before, during and after the physical examination.

We can help you to deal with local authorities to arrange a medical examination by a female doctor, where possible and if that is what you would prefer. If you wish to pay to see a private doctor the Embassy has a list of English–speaking doctors.

A doctor can give you advice on sexual transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS, and pregnancy. Even if you do not want to report a crime to the police, you may wish to be examined by a doctor.

The examiner will ask some questions and may take photographs of any injuries. During the examination, she/he will normally check the following:

• bruising and external injuries on all areas of the body
• internal injuries by examination and internal swabs
• possible DNA testing and tests relating to date rape drugs or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These may be performed by another doctor or department of the hospital.

7. Getting Medical Treatment

It is possible that you may have been exposed to the HIV virus. You should go to the nearest state hospital or pay to see a private doctor and request the “Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)”, a treatment that may stop HIV replicating in the body and so prevent the virus from attacking the immune system. More information on risks is available on the NHS website.

You should be aware that:

• HIV PEP is subject to availability in some private hospitals and small public clinics
• it is medically prescribed and closely monitored
• HIV PEP medication needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective
• the NHS may be able to commence or continue the 28-day treatment on return to the UK
• you can prevent an unwanted pregnancy with oral emergency contraception which needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective. Please get the advice of a Doctor
• patients are expected to cover the costs of private hospital treatment and tests (if medical attention is provided by a private Doctor or a private hospital)
• if you have had medication administered in El Salvador, you may wish to keep the label or make a note of the name of the medication, so that you let your local health provider know when you return home

8. Police investigations in El Salvador

The police can take the victim to the scene of the crime or where the victim thinks the attacker is located to try to identify and arrest the person only if the victim agrees with it.

If the suspect is brought to the police station as part of the investigation, the victim will be asked to make an identification.

If the police make the arrest, they will take the suspect before the judicial authorities and the prosecutor within 72 hours.

The victim will only be expected to go in front of the public prosecutor to give a statement, lawyers cannot do this on the victims behalf. Arrangements, with the Judge in charge of the legal process, may be possible so that your statement can be taken as “anticipated evidence”. This is to allow foreigners to return to their place of residence, if necessary, and ensure the statement will be valid for any trial. Once the statement has been given they will only contact you if more information is needed.

You will be allowed to leave the country even if your case has not been filed.

9. Court procedures

Once you have reported the incident to the authorities and the required examinations have been undertaken, the Public Ministry will review your case and bring it before a Criminal Court.

9.1 Next steps

The Judge can either:

• instruct the suspect’s imprisonment or
• release them on bail pending trial

When the case is revised, the Judge will decide if the person will go to trial or release the suspect if they believe there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. The process could take years.

It will be your choice if you wish to hire a private lawyer, though this is not a requirement, as the Attorney General’s office is obligated to investigate the crime. They are also in charge of the criminal prosecution.

If you wish you can appoint a representative (lawyer, relative or any person you trust) to act on your behalf while you are out of El Salvador. To do that you will have to sign a Power of Attorney.

Your representative will be able to ask the authorities for details and updates on your case and to submit or make requests to the judge. If the case requires further investigation the victim will be asked to give an additional statement.

If you change your mind about pressing charges or you are not sure if you want to continue, you can retract your statement. To do this you must tell the police or the public prosecutor. The charge of rape is an automatic state prosecution and will not be dropped but your revised statement will be considered during trial and will support the assailant’s defence.

If anyone intentionally makes false accusations to the police/Attorney General of the Republic or withholds the truth, they may be prosecuted.

Compensation for the victim is usually included as part of the assailant’s sentence once the case has concluded. Your lawyer or the Prosecutor will guide you on the level of compensation to claim for and how to submit this before the trial.

If you do not speak Spanish, a translator will be provided by the court free of charge and you should inform them of this requirement in advance to allow them to make suitable arrangements.

Consular staff will not normally be able to attend the trial with you. If you attend the trial in person you may wish to be accompanied by a friend or member of your family for the court hearing. Your representative will be able to ask the authorities for details and updates on your case and to submit or make requests to the judge.

10. When you return to the UK

Read our advice on returning to the UK following rape and sexual assault abroad.

If you believe you may be at risk of having contracted a sexually-transmitted infection (STI), you should ask your local health provider to test you, even if you have been tested in El Salvador.

You may want to let your GP or a Sexual Assault Referral Centre know what has happened to you so that you can talk about the experience and seek further support and advice.

The UK police will not normally be informed of the incident by the Salvadoran police.

It is your choice whether you let people know. If you are ready to talk about it, the organisations highlighted below may be able to help you.

11. Getting further help

Nexus Northern Ireland offer counselling and support to survivors of sexual abuse, victims of sexual violence including those who have Rape Crisis England & Wales and Rape Crisis Scotland.

Rape Crisis England & Wales and Rape Crisis Scotland are the national umbrella organisations for rape crisis centres in Great Britain. Local rape crisis centres provide crisis and long-term specialised counselling, support and independent advocacy for all women and girls of all ages who have experienced any form of sexual violence; centres are community-based, and independent of government and the criminal justice system.

Rape Crisis England and Wales free phone: 0808 802 9999

Rape Crisis Scotland free phone: 0141331 4180

Email: [email protected]

Nexus Northern Ireland

Experienced rape and sexual assault. Counselling is available for anyone aged 16+ in all regions of Northern Ireland. They offer counselling in 25 centres across Northern Ireland.

Tel: Belfast 028 9032 6803

Londonderry: 028 7126 0566

Enniskillen: 028 6632 0046

Email: [email protected]

The Survivors Trust

The Survivors Trust is a UK-wide national umbrella agency for 130 specialist organisations for support for the impact of rape, sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse throughout the UK and Ireland.

Tel: 0808 801 0818

Victim Support

Victim Support is an independent charity dedicated to supporting victims of crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales. Their purpose is to provide specialist help to support people to cope and recover to the point where they feel they are back on track with their lives.

Tel:0808 168 911

Email: [email protected]

Survivors UK

Survivors UK supports and provides resources for men who have experienced any form of sexual violence. Their national webchat service for men and their families, partners and friends is open seven days a week and can be accessed through their website.

WhatsApp: 07491 816064

Tel: 0203 5983898

Email: [email protected]

11.1 Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre

Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis Centre is a support service for women and girls aged 13 and over who have been raped, sexually assaulted or sexually abused at some point in their lifetime. Live Online Support is an online service that gives British survivors of sexual violence access to UK-based real time support from anywhere in the world, via Skype, FaceTime, Instant Messenger and email. More information including the times Live Online support is available is on their website.

11.2 Disclaimer:

This information is provided by the British Government for the convenience of enquirers, but neither His Majesty’s Government nor any official of the Consulate accept liability for any loss or damage which you might suffer as a result of relying on the information supplied. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or legal advice.