The Department of Defense (DoD) Safe Helpline is the Department’s sole crisis support service specially designed for members of the DoD community affected by sexual assault. Safe Helpline is secure, confidential, anonymous, and available 24/7, worldwide. The Safe Helpline staff provides live, one-on-one support to survivors, their families, and other DoD stakeholders. It is operated by RAINN through a contract with the DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

Safe Helpline provides support to members of the DoD community affected by sexual assault as well as civilian sexual assault service providers working to support military survivors. Sexual assault service providers support survivors of sexual assault who come from a wide variety of different backgrounds. Service providers located near a military base or installation may also provide services to active duty Service members, Service members transitioning out of military service, or other members of the DoD community. Safe Helpline is honored to work with civilian responders to provide information, support, and resources to aid their work in supporting survivors in the DoD community. This article provides useful information and links for civilian service providers who work with Service members, as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about supporting survivors in the DoD community.

Safe Helpline offers unique self-paced modules to help those looking for support or information related to sexual assault. Each module was built with a particular audience in mind, but all modules provide valuable information for anyone looking to learn more about sexual assault, its effects, and the support available. All of Safe Helpline’s self-paced educational modules can be found here.

Safe Helpline offers a module specifically geared towards civilian sexual assault service providers looking to assist Service members who are survivors of sexual assault as they transition out of the military. This module provides responders with information on military structure and culture, the transition process, additional needs for those leaving the military, and available resources to address those needs. The module also includes details about some of the unique challenges survivors of sexual assault who are transitioning out of the military may face and explains how service providers can leverage their existing skills and available resources to better assist these individuals. For those who do not have a working knowledge of support available for transitioning Service members, this module builds useful skills for supporting survivors in the DoD community in the future. You can access the Transitioning Service Member Module here.

If you are interested in an overview of the work Safe Helpline does to support survivors in the DoD community, as well as military and civilian service providers, you can also take the Safe Helpline 101 course. This course provides a comprehensive overview of Safe Helpline, including services offered and how to connect to them, common topics discussed by visitors, information about our secure technology platform, steps taken to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of visitors, and an introduction to how Safe Helpline staff are trained to provide support. This module is an initial step to learning more about the services Safe Helpline provides. If you work with military survivors and are interested in providing additional resources to those you serve, this course may be useful for your team.

For both civilian service providers and those interested in supporting friends and family members who are survivors, Safe Helpline offers the How to Support a Survivor self-paced program. This course provides concrete tools that can help friends, family members, and colleagues of survivors of sexual assault support a survivor’s recovery. This program identifies both helping behaviors that support survivors of sexual assault and harmful behaviors that should be avoided. The program also includes concrete steps to help you become a stronger supporter for the people in your life affected by sexual violence.

For anyone interested in learning more about serving military survivors, including civilian sexual assault service providers, Safe Helpline is a useful resource. You can find more information about military structure and culture, military reporting processes, and the services Safe Helpline offers to survivors in the DoD community at SafeHelpline.org. Safe Helpline is proud to work alongside sexual assault service providers and the civilian community to provide support to active duty survivors and transitioning Service members alike. Safe Helpline is here to support and work alongside you as you support military survivors of sexual assault in your local community.