According to ABC, RAINN’s online live-chat hotline also saw a 33 percent spike in contacts starting the day after the video dropped. RAINN President Scott Berkowitz told ABC that increases in hotline activity are common after sexual assault allegations make big-time national news. The organization noted similar spikes in the wake of dozens of women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault and after the public outrage that followed ex–Stanford student Brock Turner’s six-month sentence for sexually assaulting a young woman behind a dumpster. Many callers or online chatters have sought emotional support as memories of their own assaults have re-emerged. Others have brought up previously unreported assaults and asked about statutes of limitations to help them decide whether to notify law enforcement.
2016-10-19