Expected increase in requests for assistance

Catherine Montambeault

Thursday, 19 October 2017 01:21

UPDATE
Thursday, 19 October 2017 01:21

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The organizations working with victims of sexual violence and expect that their phones do dérougissent not in the coming weeks in the wake of the allegations against Eric Salvail.

“Every time such scandals burst on the public square, the number of requests for help is skyrocketing,” says Sébastien Richard, president of the Centre for resources and intervention for men sexually abused in their childhood (CRIPHASE).

“When there was the case of Claude Jutra, our call volume had tripled”, he remembers.

The spokesperson for the Regroupement québécois des centres d’aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (RQCALACS), Stéphanie Tremblay, explains that the denunciations publicized to encourage many victims to break the silence, as they feel less lonely.

“However, there are other people who are going to feel extremely face,” she said. They feel pressure to reveal details of their aggression then they are not ready to do so.”

Taboo

The president of the CRIPHASE finds that sexual violence against men remains taboo, which explains why those who suffer it do not dare often not talk about it.

“Among the men who are victims of sexual assault, many are afraid to give an impression of weakness,” says Sébastien Richard.

Some also fear that we may believe wrongly that they are gay if they tell you have been harassed or assaulted by a man, ” he adds.

According to the data of the CRIPHASE, men expect, on average, 35 years after the facts before you ask for help.