Immediate response planning for UK adults 18+

The UK Kink GuideIncident response

In-the-moment and aftercare pathway

If something has already gone wrong, safety comes first.

This page is a practical escalation pathway, not a legal or medical service. Use emergency services for immediate danger. Use professional support for safety, mental health, medical, and legal assessment.

Immediate triage checklist

  1. Call 999 immediately for chest pain, severe bleeding, collapse, breathing trouble, violent injury, overdose concerns, or any suspected life-threatening harm.
  2. If you are not in immediate danger, move to urgent health triage quickly while staying in a safe place.
  3. For urgent health concerns that are not immediately life-threatening, use the appropriate non-emergency medical triage route for your nation.
  4. If coercion, assault, or violence is ongoing, focus on leaving danger before any conversation about anything else.

Urgent support by nation

England (and England-facing NHS 111)

  • Life-threatening: 999.
  • Urgent-but-not-life-threatening medical support: NHS 111 in England (phone or online triage).
  • Use text relay at 18001 111 and sign language/other interpretation support where available.
NHS 111 (England, online)NHS: when to call 111NHS: call 999 guidance

Scotland

  • Urgent medical triage commonly uses NHS 24 (Scotland), including the 111 number.
  • Use local NHS 24 or GP/out-of-hours contacts for urgent but non-999 situations.
NHS 24NHS 111 Wales and Scotland note (overview)Scotland domestic abuse helpline: 0800 027 1234

Wales

  • For urgent medical triage outside immediate emergencies, use NHS 111 Wales and local health pathways.
  • For domestic or sexual-violence safety concerns, use the Wales domestic abuse support service route.
NHS 111 WalesDomestic and sexual violence support in WalesNHS conditions and urgent care overview

Northern Ireland

  • If this is a life threat, use 999.
  • Outside immediate emergency, use local GP out-of-hours and local urgent care pathways from NI health services.
  • For domestic or sexual-violence safety support, use NI domestic-sexual abuse support services.
NI GP out-of-hours and urgent careNI domestic and sexual violence supportNI urgent care and emergency overview

Post-incident recovery and preservation

  • Make sure all involved people are in a stable, supervised place.
  • Stop all activity. Check breathing, circulation, pain, bleeding, consciousness, and need for immediate care.
  • If one person should leave, plan the move first and communicate a simple check-in point.
  • Document what happened while preserving your own wellbeing: date, time, symptoms, messages, and any immediate risks.
  • Do not rely on private deletion promises. Keep one secure copy of relevant evidence and keep all further action documented.
  • Seek support from a trained professional or support service before deciding any legal step.

If an intimate-image or privacy breach occurred, pause scene sharing, limit further distribution, and seek support that can help with urgent reporting and emotional safety.

CPS overview of intimate-image and sexual-offence prosecution guidance

Legal and health boundary note

This page is educational. It does not determine consent, admissibility, or legal outcomes. Law and safety conclusions are fact-specific and jurisdiction-specific.

Top of this page

Then do this (in order)