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Kavanaugh, Ford hearing prompts calls

Area group sees uptick in sexual assault reports
Posted at 5:10 PM, Oct 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-01 18:10:27-04

The emotional testimonies of accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford against U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh over sexual misconduct are felt from the capitol to the heartland.

In the following days, sexual assault hotlinesare seeing an uptick in calls, said  Elizabeth Power, a marketing director for the Women's Center for Advancement.

The advocacy group helps survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and human trafficking. It's currently compiling its local data to determine the increased phone calls, but reports the national trend shows a deafening response to Thursday's hearing held by the senate judiciary committee.

"The national hotlines which actually feeds into our hotlines -  they were up like 140 percent one day [and] 210 percent the next day," Power said.

The moment enters the month of October, which is also the awareness month for domestic violence. WCA launched a social media campaign Monday, "150. Every. Single. Day." The awareness effort refers to the number of people staff help each day, whether its through the hotline or when people come through its doors.

Domestic abuse survivor Leontyne Evans believes the discussion of sexual assault and intimate partner violence needs to be less politicized and return to the stories of survivors.

"So many others are coming forward," Evans said. " So, it's an awesome, awesome movement and I'm so happy to be a part of it."