Guidance

Argentina: information for victims of rape and sexual assault

Updated 9 January 2024

If you have been sexually assaulted it is important to remember that it was not your fault. Rape and sexual assault is always wrong – no matter who commits it or where it happens. It is traumatic and it can affect you both physically and emotionally. Do not be afraid to get help.

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. You can:

• contact the local emergency number. This may vary from province to province and from city to city. However, in most provinces you can dial 911 for emergency services or 144 for advice and support.
• contact your tour operator if you are travelling with one.
• contact the British Embassy in Buenos Aires on +54 11 4808 2200 (24/7 line). Embassy staff will be empathetic, 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.

If you want to report the incident to the police in Argentina

Before you go to the police station

If you have a tour operator, they should be able to arrange for someone to support you. If you are in an area where there is a British embassy or consulate, they will try to send a consular officer to support you, where timing and location allow. You will always be able to speak to trained consular staff on the telephone 24/7.

If you approach the police directly, you can also ask them to inform the British Embassy in Buenos Aires on +54 11 4808 2200 (24/7 line) and we can offer you consular support.

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

Washing yourself or your clothes may make it difficult for the police to obtain forensic evidence. If you change your clothes, take those you were wearing to the police. You may wish to preserve evidence by retaining items such as condoms, toothbrushes, or texts.

At the police station

Tell the police if you think you have been drugged.

Ask for a copy of the police report and for the details of the Prosecution Office or Court on duty to which the report will be forwarded. This will allow you to follow up on the case later on. Depending on the jurisdiction, the investigation will be either led by a Judge or a Prosecutor.

There may not always be both male and female police officers available, but we can express your preference to the authorities.

There may not always be English-speaking officers available. If this were the case, we will do our best to make sure the authorities involve a translator as soon as possible. We will also provide you with a list of local translators and help you arrange their services if required.

If this is what you prefer, we can try to arrange to come to the police station with you.  However, issues like distance or staffing may limit our possibilities to do so.

The police will ask you to give as many details of the incident as possible including a description of the attacker(s).

After you have given your statement to the police, the report will be forwarded to the court or prosecution office on duty. You will be required to ratify your report in front of the Judge or Prosecutor in order to initiate the legal proceedings against the perpetrator, which means you may need to explain the course of the events one more time.

The police may keep any clothes, which may be evidence of your attack, to present to a forensic examiner, as well as any other belongings that may provide useful information on the attacker(s).

The police will also take you to a local hospital for a forensic examination if this has not occurred yet.

Local authorities may retain passports of suspects in a criminal investigation. As a victim of crime, you should not be requested to surrender your passport.

Having a lawyer will enable you to be kept aware of the case. The Court has no obligation to inform you of the case evolvements if you have not been registered as a formal complainant with formal legal representation. You can instruct your own private lawyer or explicitly request for a public defender from the Victims of Crime program (Programa de Asistencia y Patrocinio Jurídico a Víctimas de Delitos del Ministerio Público de la Defensa). The request will be considered based on vulnerability and household income, among others.

Local police will not inform UK police unless the nature of the investigation requires them to do so. Local police will also not ask UK to undertake police checks on the victim unless the victim is under investigation for a separate crime.

After making a statement

Once you have made a statement and undergone a medical examination, the information will be sent by the police to the investigating court.

It is not common practice to ask the victim to visit the scene of the crime when a rape or sexual assault is being investigated.

The police will aim to avoid any contact between the victim and the suspect as this may void a future identity parade during the legal proceedings. Only a Judge can request an identity parade further on in an investigation.

If the police make an arrest, the court will be notified within the hour of the arrest. The Judge will have 24hs to meet the suspect and take the suspect’s statement before deciding whether to prosecute or not. Depending on the province where the incident takes place, this responsibility can be delegated to the prosecutor directly.

You will be asked to ratify your declaration of events in front of the Judge or the Prosecutor (depending on the province where the crime was perpetrated). This means you may have to talk through the details and course of the events one more time. You are free to leave the country whenever you please. Just note that doing so before ratifying your statement in front of the Judge or Prosecutor, can signify the immediate closure of the investigation and filing of the case.

After you have ratified your statement, there is no need for you to stay in country while the legal process develops.

If you do not want to report the incident to the police in Argentina

The British Embassy will be able to help you. This includes:

• helping you to contact your insurance company and/or your family
• accompanying you to the local hospital/medical facility, where possible
• providing you with lists of lawyers and translators
• helping you with arrangements to travel back to the UK
• providing you with information on local support in the UK

You can also report the incident to your tour operator if you’re travelling with one. They may be able to help you, including accompanying you to the local hospital.

It is your choice on whether to report the crime. If you don’t report it, your case may not be investigated.

If you do not report the crime, you will still be able to get medical attention.  In Argentina there is a National Protocol in place to assist victims of rape and sexual assault. This protocol states that the victim’s right to access medical attention and professional support prevails even when the (adult) victim decides not to report the crime.

The medical examination: what to expect

Where to go

In line with the National Protocol for Rape and Sexual Assault Victims, all hospitals and medical centres in Argentina must treat victims of rape and sexual assault. All public hospitals will do this free of charge.

If you have not involved the police, on arrival to the hospital, you will need to admit yourself at the “Guardia” – A&E equivalent. You may be asked to explain the nature of your emergency to ensure the relevant specialists come to see you.

If you have reported the incident to the police, they will usually take you to a public hospital and a forensic doctor will be called in immediately to carry out a forensic examination together with the hospital staff.

Examination

You do not have to have a medical examination if you do not want to. It is your right to decide if you want this to happen or not, and it is the doctor’s duty to ask for your consent before the examination takes place. Doctors must be prepared to explain to you what this examination entails. The sooner the examination takes place, the more chance of collecting evidence.

If you haven’t decided whether or not to involve the police, it is most likely that the medical examination will be carried out by trained hospital staff instead of a forensic doctor, and every sample collected and test results will show in your medical record at the hospital for future reference. They will not automatically report the results of any examination to the police. In both cases, they will take samples, such as swabs, depending on the information you provide on the assault. They will also take blood samples -sometimes urine samples too-, and also retain some clothing and other items.

If this is what you prefer, we can try to arrange to come to the hospital with you. However, issues like distance or staffing may limit our possibilities to do so.

There may not always be both male and female doctors available, but we can express your preference to the hospital staff on your behalf.

Treatment

The National Protocol for Rape and Sexual Assault Victims indicates the medical treatment that every victim must receive following a complete medical examination:

• Treat all physical injuries appropriately (including genital injuries)
• Provide the Emergency Contraception Pill (Also known as ‘Morning After Pill’): This pill must be taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex. The sooner it is taken, the better chances of it being effective.
• Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) treatment: If taken early enough (ideally within the first two hours after the exposure occurred and up to 72 hours), it is thought to stop HIV from replicating in the body thereby preventing the virus from attacking the immune system. In Spanish this treatment is called ‘Tratamiento Antirretroviral’. PEP is a four-week course of medication, but the National Protocol for Rape and Sexual Assault Victims obliges the doctors to provide the patient with the necessary tablets for a 3-day intake, as the patient must check in at the hospital again to meet with the Infectious Diseases Team for a follow-up. During this meeting, the doctor must hand out the remaining tablets to complete the four-week treatment.

If the hospital cannot provide you with the remaining tablets, the doctor must hand you a prescription. However, this medication can sometimes be hard to find and can be very expensive. Please, let us know if this is the case and we can help you contact local pharmacies or other hospitals. You must NOT interrupt the PEP treatment without consulting a doctor first.

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 when you return to the UK.

The emergency contraception pill can be purchased at any pharmacy without a medical referral or prescription.

Emergency contraception needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective.

The National Protocol for Rape and Sexual Assault Victims indicates that the entire assistance response (including medical examinations, tests and treatments) are free of charge in public hospitals. Please be aware that private hospitals may expect you to pay for their intervention.

If you have had medication administered abroad, you should keep the label or make a note of the name of the medication. You can then give it to your local health provider when you return home.

If you want to report the incident to the police in the UK

The support available to you, and your access to justice may depend on where you report the crime.

In many countries, you need to report the crime before you leave the country, if you want it to be investigated and police to obtain important evidence.

If you are staying in Argentina and the crime took place there, you should report the crime there. If you are a British national and you need help to report the crime, you can contact the British Embassy in Buenos Aires, or the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London.

If you do not report the crime in Argentina and you return to the UK, you can still report the matter to your local UK police.

The UK police should send the information you provide to Argentina.  However, foreign police forces decide whether to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction and they may not take action.

You can report the crime to the UK police even if you are not seeking an investigation abroad. The UK police can offer you access to victim support in the UK. They may still send some details of the crime to police in Argentina. This might be necessary in order to protect vulnerable people, or to stop more crimes being committed.

Court procedures in Argentina: what to expect

Throughout the course of the investigation, the Judge has the power to call you as a witness for further statements. This call constitutes an obligation to attend. If you are in the UK, the Judge can issue letters requisitorial to the relevant authority in the UK to assist in taking your declaration.

If the Judge considers that, given the seriousness of the crime being investigated and the relevance of your testimony, your testimony must happen in person, you can request financial compensation for the costs incurred to travel.

Having a lawyer will enable you to be kept aware of the case. The Court has no obligation to inform you of the case evolvements if you have not been registered as a formal complainant with formal legal representation.

After you have ratified your statement in front of the Judge or Prosecutor, it becomes an automatic state prosecution, meaning the Court will have the power to investigate even if this is not your wish.

Argentine Criminal Law foresees sanctions for those who make false accusations against someone.   You can file a civil lawsuit against the offender to receive payment in compensation for any injuries or losses. This can be filed within the same criminal case or separately.  In Argentina, there is currently no state-funded compensation scheme to cover physical or psychological injuries suffered as a result of a violent crime.

Argentine judicial procedures can be lengthy and drawn out especially if your assailant is not immediately identifiable and/or arrested soon after the assault. An investigating judge or prosecutor is principally in charge of leading the investigation into the assault. At the end of the investigation phase when all necessary reports and statements have been completed, the judge in charge of the investigation will decide whether there is enough evidence for the case to go trial. If so, the case will be passed to a trial court.

The trial will be conducted in Spanish and you will be provided with an interpreter when you are asked questions about your statement.

Cases can take years to come to trial, as the Argentine court system is very slow. If you haven’t heard anything from the court for some time, this does not necessarily mean that the case has been filed. The length of the trial itself can also vary depending on the complexity of the circumstances.

If convicted the assailant has the right of appeal against the length of the sentence which can take between one and two years to be resolved.

When you return to the UK

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.  You should do this even if you have been tested in the country where the assault took place.

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

Location	Service
England	NHS Choices website, or search online for ‘NHS SARC’
Scotland	Archway SARC, or phone 0141 211 8175
Wales	New Pathways SARC, or phone 01685 379 310. Ynys Saff Sexual Assault Referral Centre - Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
Northern Ireland	Rowan SARC Northern Ireland, or phone 0800 389 4424

Disclaimer

This information has been prepared by UK Government officials who are not legally or medically trained. It should therefore never be used as a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. It is intended to help British nationals overseas make their own informed decisions. Neither the UK 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.

Medical information has been provided by The Havens Sexual Assault Referral Centres of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and was accurate at the time of production (2 February 2022).