Victims of rape or sexual assault in Costa Rica

We take any report of rape or sexual assault seriously and will see you to offer you support as soon as possible and in private. In most cases of rape and sexual assault, the victims, no matter what their sex, prefer to talk about their ordeal with women, and you should request this.

We can tell you about local police and legal procedures. If you want to contact the police, we can come to the police station with you.Where possible we can try to make sure that you are interviewed by a female police officer if that’s what you would prefer. We can give you a list of local lawyers and interpreters. However,only you can decide whether or not to take legal action - we cannot make this decision for you. Remember that if you choose not to report the crime immediately but change your mind later, forensic and other evidence may be lost. In Costa Rica you must report the crime before returning to the UK if you want it to be investigated.

We can help you to deal with the local authorities to arrange a medical examination, where possible with a female doctor if that is what you would prefer. We can also arrange for you to see a doctor who can give advice on sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, and on pregnancy or abortion. Anti viral treatment is given in Costa Rica. The local authorities are very sensitive to rape and sexual assault victims.

We can contact your next of kin or other family and friends. We can give you information on what professional help is available locally and in the UK, both for you and for your family.We can also consult our London-based police adviser, who can consider using the services of a sexual offences trained officer from your local police station to advise and help you.

For more information, please see our leaflet called `Rape and Sexual Assault` on our travel website under ‘Our publications’, which you may find useful.