Support for sexual abuse survivors in California, checked number by number

If something happened to you, whether last night or decades ago, you do not have to sort it out alone. California has free, confidential sexual assault support in every region. Most of it is run by local rape crisis centers whose counselors answer the phone at any hour. This page lists the ones we could verify, county by county, along with national hotlines, help in Spanish, support for LGBTQ+ survivors and the state program that can pay for counseling.

We are a law firm, and this page is not a sales page. Support comes first. Talking with a counselor does not commit you to reporting to police or to filing a lawsuit, and you can take as long as you need. If you later want to understand your legal options, that information is at the end of this page.

If you need to talk to someone right now

If you are in danger right now, call 911. Otherwise, these lines are free and confidential. We checked each number on the organization's own website on October 31, 2026.

A note on Childhelp: its website says the line "is not a reporting line and is not connected to 911 or emergency services." Its counselors can help you think through whether and how to make a report.

What happens when you call a rape crisis center

Many survivors put off calling because they do not know what to expect. Here is what California law and the centers themselves say.

• The call is about you, not a report. A counselor will usually ask whether you are safe right now and what kind of help you want. You can share as much or as little as you like, and you can hang up at any time.
• What you say is protected. California gives survivors a legal privilege to refuse to disclose, and to stop others from disclosing, confidential communications with a sexual assault counselor (Evidence Code § 1035.8). Ask the counselor to explain any limits, such as mandated reporting when a child may be in danger.
• You can have an advocate with you. When a survivor goes to a hospital for a sexual assault exam, the law requires police to notify the local rape crisis center, and the survivor may have a sexual assault counselor and a support person present during the exam, under Penal Code § 264.2(b).
• The exam is free, and reporting is your choice. The costs of a sexual assault forensic exam "shall not be charged directly or indirectly to the victim," and a survivor "shall not be required to participate or to agree to participate in the criminal justice system," according to Penal Code § 13823.95. Exams are also available to survivors who have not yet decided whether to report.
• Centers offer more than a phone line. For example, Alameda Health System's program lists crisis support, accompaniment to medical visits, police interviews and court, safety planning, counseling and help applying for victim compensation, all free, on its program page. Other centers offer similar services; ask what they have.

How to find your local rape crisis center

California's statewide coalition of rape crisis centers was known for years as the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, or CALCASA. It is now called ValorUS; its history page says, "In 2021, we became VALOR." ValorUS keeps a directory of California rape crisis centers by county, covering nearly every county in the state. It is a good place to start if your county is not listed below.

Directories go out of date. When we checked the ValorUS listings against the centers' own websites, a few numbers had changed and at least one center had closed. BRAVE Bay Area, formerly Bay Area Women Against Rape, announced it would close in September 2025, KALW reported. Where a center's website and the directory disagreed, we used the center's own website.

Rape crisis centers and child advocacy centers by county

The table covers 20 counties. "Rape crisis" means a center that supports survivors of any age, including adults abused as children. "Child advocacy" means a children's advocacy center: a child-friendly place where children are interviewed once by a trained specialist, instead of over and over by different agencies, and where families are connected to medical care and counseling. Children usually come to these centers through police or child protective services, so a parent or survivor will often start with the rape crisis line, which can explain the process.

Every listing was checked on October 31, 2026, against the organization's own website, the ValorUS directory or the National Children's Alliance member directory. "Not verified" means we could not confirm that detail, so we left it out. Language notes appear only where the organization itself states them; many centers that do not advertise it still have Spanish-speaking staff, so it is always worth asking.

If your county is not here, or a number does not work, call RAINN at 800-656-4673, or look up your county in the ValorUS directory linked above.

Help in Spanish

These services say on their own websites that they offer Spanish-language help:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call 988 and press 2, or text AYUDA to 988. For chat, choose "Español" on the Lifeline's Spanish page.
• Childhelp: 800-422-4453, which displays "Se habla Español."
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233, with a Spanish site at espanol.thehotline.org.
• Peace Over Violence (Los Angeles County): services "in English, Spanish and American Sign Language."
• East Los Angeles Women's Center: 800-585-6231. The center describes its beginnings as "the first in the nation bilingual hotline for Spanish–speaking survivors of sexual assault."
• Coalition for Family Harmony (Ventura County): a 24/7 bilingual hotline at 800-300-2181, marked "Se habla Español."
• Alameda Health System SARRT (Alameda County): 510-534-9290, services "in English and Spanish."
• YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County): a 24-hour bilingual support line at 800-572-2782.

WEAVE in Sacramento, Rape Trauma Services in San Mateo County and Community Solutions in Santa Clara County also have Spanish-language pages. For a Spanish version of this guide, see recursos para sobrevivientes de abuso sexual. Our own intake team speaks Spanish as well.

Support for LGBTQ+ survivors

LGBTQ+ survivors are welcome at every rape crisis center listed here, and you can ask any counselor about their experience working with LGBTQ+ clients. Some services focus on LGBTQ+ people specifically:

• The Trevor Project: 24/7 support for LGBTQ+ young people at 866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678.
• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860.
• Los Angeles LGBT Center, Legal Advocacy Project for Survivors: "LGBTQ+-specific, trauma-informed" legal services and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, partner violence, stalking and trafficking. The warm line is 323-993-7649, and the program page offers Spanish-language help by email.

Help paying for counseling and medical care: CalVCB

The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) can pay some costs that come from a violent crime, including sexual assault and child abuse. This is separate from a lawsuit. You do not need a lawyer to apply, and the board's own pages are the best guide.

• What it can pay for: mental health counseling, medical and dental treatment, income loss, relocation, residential security and other costs. Some categories have limits.
• How much: "The most CalVCB may pay per approved application is $70,000."
• The deadline: applications are generally due within seven years of the crime, or seven years after you knew or could have discovered that an injury was caused by the crime. Survivors who were 21 or younger "have until their 28th birthday to apply." Late applications may still be considered for good cause.
• Who qualifies: the crime must have happened in California, or to a California resident elsewhere. "United States citizenship is not required to apply," according to the board's fact sheet.
• Cooperation with police: applicants are generally expected to cooperate with law enforcement, but the board says exceptions may apply for sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking.
• Payer of last resort: CalVCB pays only expenses that have no other source of reimbursement, such as insurance.

CalVCB's phone number is 800-777-9229. Many rape crisis centers will help you fill out the application.

The California Department of Justice Victims' Services Unit

The Attorney General's Victims' Services Unit can explain the criminal justice process and victims' rights, set up notifications about a case, refer you to local programs and help with victim impact statements. It also answers questions about tracking a sexual assault evidence kit ("Rape Kit Status"). Its toll-free number is 877-433-9069, and it has a contact form in Spanish. It does not take crime reports; those go to local police or the sheriff.

When you are ready to think about legal options

A civil lawsuit is different from a criminal case. It is brought by the survivor, it asks for money damages from the person or organization responsible, and it can go forward whether or not anyone was ever charged. Nobody needs to decide that on the same day they reach out for support. But California's civil deadlines are real, and two of them are close:

• For abuse that happened before age 18, see our guide to the childhood sexual abuse statute of limitations in California. For abuse on or after January 1, 2024, there is no deadline.
• For some older adult sexual assault claims, the AB 2777 window closes December 31, 2026. A separate window for claims involving a cover-up by a private organization runs through December 31, 2027.
• Our sexual abuse deadline finder gives a rough, private estimate in a few questions. Nothing you enter leaves your device.

Privacy is often the biggest worry. In California, many survivors are able to file as Jane Doe or John Doe, so their name does not appear in public court records. Our guide to filing a sexual abuse lawsuit as Jane Doe explains how that works and its limits.

LaCour Trial Lawyers represents survivors in civil cases across California, on contingency, in English and Spanish. We never pay anyone for a referral or a claim, and we will never ask anyone to change or exaggerate what happened. If you would like to talk, a free, confidential review is available, and you can read more about our sexual abuse practice.

About this list. We have no relationship with any organization listed here. We receive nothing for listing them, and they have not reviewed or endorsed this page. Last checked: October 31, 2026. If a number has changed, please tell us through our contact page so we can correct it.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.