It isn’t just alleged victims of Donald Trump who are coming forward to report sexual assault in increasing numbers. People across the country are more frequently calling a nation-wide hotline for victims of abuse.
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) said Wednesday it had seen a 33 percent uptick in calls to its national hotline. Victims can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7 and anonymously speak with a support services specialist about what happened to them, regardless of when the assault took place.
Scott Berkowitz, founder of RAINN, told Yahoo that the organization’s hotline typically expereinces a higher volume after high-profile sexual assault cases receive lots of media attention. He said that the release of a 2005 video last week showing Trump bragging about kissing and groping women without their consent and subsequent allegations of assault from a number of women who encountered the presidential candidate at different times in his life are having a similar impact on nation-wide reporting.
“A lot of people on the hotline are actually referencing Trump,” Berkowitz said. “And saying that those comments are what prompted to them to reach out.”
The organization doubled its staff for weekend shifts following release of the video and at times had 20-30 people waiting to speak with a counselor. Berkowitz said that on Tuesday alone, calls were up 42 percent over normal volume. The hotline can be reached at 800-656-HOPE.
According to RAINN, an American is sexually assaulted every 109 seconds. One out of every six American women have been the victim of an attempted or complete rape. Likely many more have had such experiences than are reflected in the statistics, due to the stigma and difficulty in bringing a perpetrator to justice. Only six out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations as “a conspiracy” by the media and continues to dismiss his lewd comments captured on video as “locker room talk.” He requested the New York Times remove an article in which two women accused him of inappropriately touching or kissing them without consent, which the paper declined to do on the grounds that the public deserved to be informed about such allegations made about a presidential candidate.
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke out against Trump’s conduct on Thursday, saying it had “shaken her to her core.”
“This is not normal,” Obama said at a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton. “This isn’t about politics, it’s about basic human decency.”
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