The Orange County Rape Crisis Center saw a 250 percent increase in calls in the two weeks surrounding the sexual assault allegations made against then-nominee to the United States Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh.

The center’s executive director Rachel Valentine says the spike is a direct result of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court despite accusations of sexual assault.

Valentine says this uptick in survivors of sexual assault coming forward should be viewed as a positive.

“For some people, speaking out in a public way is a part of the healing,” says Valentine. “For some people, it’s not. But being able to speak to at least one person who’s going to listen and support and believe them and hear them is a part of their healing journey, and any steps that a survivor is taking on that path is counted as a positive and as a win for our work and our movement.”

For many survivors, Valentine says, the constant news cycle focused on sexual violence has brought renewed trauma. Similarly, the #MeToo movement has brought survivors into the crosshairs of partisan political interest in what is an extremely volatile political climate. Valentine says this atmosphere means voicing support for survivors is critically important.

“Saying those kinds of things out loud might sound kind of ridiculous, but it is really important because it is an acute counterweight to almost every other message that most survivors are hearing in the culture,” says Valentine.

The Orange County Rape Crisis Center opened in 1974 and has made it their mission to stop sexual violence. The organization provides a 24-hour helpline to survivors or anyone effected by sexual violence, pro-bono therapy, system advocacy for survivors seeking medical care or legal remedy, and support groups.

“You don’t need an appointment, you can just come,” says Valentine. “You don’t need to know what it is you’re looking for; you don’t have to have your story; you don’t even really have to tell us what happened. You can come and know that there are people there ready to receive you, and you will be received without judgement, without shame. And you will be believed and supported.”

For more information or ways to get involved with the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, visit ocrcc.org. Valentine also wrote a column earlier this month.

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