#MeToo increases calls to King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

In the two weeks since dozens of women have come forward to report allegations of sexual assault and harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, calls to the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center in Renton have gone up 44 percent over the same two-week period last year.

“This is going to bring up feelings for people that they may want to just sort out,” KCSARC Executive Director Mary Ellen Stone told KIRO 7 Thursday.

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“There’s also a group of people who are saying, this happened to me and for the first time, maybe I want to tell somebody about it” Stone said.

According to Stone, hearing private accounts from very public figures is encouraging women and men to not only talk about what happened, but to also get help.

Which is why she believes so many people are calling KCSARC.

“If we can’t talk about it, we can’t stop it.”

KCSARC also received a recent donation because of the influence of #MeToo.

According to Stone, someone “sent in a small gift to say, this is in honor of the woman who sat next to me on the bus and told me about her experience.”

“People are standing with each other.”

If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, or if you would like more information about sexual violence, call King County Sexual Assault Resource Center's 24-hour Resource Line at 888.99.VOICE or visit www.kcsarc.org/gethelp.

Cox Media Group