Oahu sex assault hotline sees call surge

Oahu’s sex assault hotline has experienced a significant increase in calls following the widespread airing of allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Adriana Ramelli, executive director of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center at Kapiolani Medical Center, said she couldn’t quantify how many more calls were coming from victims, but it feels like overall calls have surged.

“We’re extremely busy right now,” Ramelli said.

Many of the callers are revealing their own experiences with sexual assault that they have not felt comfortable disclosing until now, she said.

The increase in calls mirrors what’s happening across the country, with victims flooding support center phone lines and coming forward with reports of rapes and assaults, according to news reports.

Kavanaugh has denied any wrongdoing, but Christine Blasey Ford’s recounting of her attack has stirred many who have until now remained silent.

At Oahu’s Sex Abuse Treatment Center 24-hour hotline, counselors are hearing a range of emotions from victims as a result of the renewed national focus on the topic, said Cindy Shimomi-­Saito, the center’s associate director.

Among the emotions, she said, are frustration and anger about how little things have changed in the way society has addressed sexual assault. Others have called to say they are among the victims who kept their sexual assault secret and suffered on their own, some for many years.

“They’re angry that what they have experienced in their own personal situation is being played out on national TV,” Shimomi-Saito said.

“There’s a lot of victim blaming going on right now,” Ramelli added.

The Oahu hotline typically receives about 3,000 calls a year.

In Hawaii, one in seven women, or more than 14 percent, has been raped, according to a 2003 study, while nearly one in five U.S. women, or 18.3 percent, has been raped.

On the Big Island, calls to the sex assault hotline there have increased since the Kavanaugh hearing — at least over the same period last year, said Kathleen McGilvray, CEO of the YWCA of Hawaii Island.

“There are a lot more conversations right now. A lot of people were triggered by the hearing,” she said.

McGilvray said she hopes Ford’s bold move in coming forward to tell her story of sexual assault continues to inspire.

“I hope very much it will,” she said. “I hope someone bravely standing up and telling what happened to her will allow others to bravely talk about their own sexual assault.”

McGilvray said there are long-range consequences for those who don’t reach out for help, including a greater likelihood of eating disorders, addictions, domestic violence, depression and falling victim to another sex assault.

“It’s a very expensive social ill,” McGilvray said.

Studies indicate that rape survivors are three times more likely to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder episodes than individuals who have not been raped, four times more likely to have contemplated suicide and 13 times more likely to have attempted suicide.

On Maui, an official with that island’s sexual assault hotline said there was no increase in calls following the Kavanaugh hearing. An official with the Kauai hotline did not respond to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by deadline.

Anyone who has experienced a sexual assault or knows someone who has experienced it is encouraged to call one of the state’s 24-hour hotlines to speak with a trained counselor. The number on Oahu is 524-7273. On Hawaii island, call (808) 935-0677. In Maui County, call (808) 873-8624. On Kauai, call (808) 245-4144.