Protestors outside of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday. (Photo by Tyrone Turner / WAMU)

Protestors outside of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday. (Photo by Tyrone Turner / WAMU)

In the lead up to the testimony from Christine Blasey Ford outlining her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center has fielded much higher calls than normal.

Indira M. Henard, the executive director for the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, say that the hotline for her organization has seen a “significant” spike in the number of callers in the past 72 hours.

“We haven’t calculated it yet, but we’ve definitely seen a significant spike,” Henard says. “We operate a 24/7, 365-day per year hotline and today our hotline is extremely busy. We have advocates on standby answering multiple lines.”

Henard says the crisis center was expecting to be busy during Ford’s testimony. Around 100 crisis staffers are working the hotline and therapists were made available on Thursday. “We have a full house,” she says. “It’s all hands on deck.”

Additionally, she says that since the #MeToo movement sparked last year, usage of their hotline has increased overall by 15 percent.

“All of the conversation around sexual violence and the climate that we are living in, particularly around the high profile sexual assault cases, has definitely prompted an increase to our hotline and has impacted survivors across the country,” Henard says.

Both Kavanaugh and Ford grew up and attended local private schools in Montgomery County. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh assaulted her in the summer of 1982 when they were both high school students. The local bent to these national proceedings is part of why Henard thinks the D.C. Rape Crisis Center has a unique perspective about the impact of this news cycle on survivors. On social media, many local residents posted that they’re watching the hearing closely. Some expressed anguish and sadness during Ford’s testimony.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, which has a hotline for victims, has also seen a spike in calls today, according to Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold.

“Sexual assault is a crime, and every allegation should be thoroughly investigated,” RAINN said in a statement. “The allegations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford are very serious. The Senate Judiciary Committee has a responsibility to hear from both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford before voting on his nomination.”

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