Montreal police hotline for sexual assault victims closes as number of calls drop

Over the course of 19 days, 463 calls were made to the sexual assault reporting hotline Montreal police set up in the midst of a spate of publicized accusations against some members of Quebec's entertainment elite last month.

Montreal's police force, the SPVM, says it set up the phone number Oct. 19 to make it easier for people who felt triggered to report an experience of alleged sexual assault to do so.

• Montreal police hotline for sex assault victims receives 200+ calls in 2 days
• Montreal actress Erika Rosenbaum says Harvey Weinstein harassed, assaulted her

Calls came flooding in: 253 in the first five days.The day after the hotline went up, police registered 114 calls, its peak.

'I didn't expect to get so many calls'

Since then, however,the SPVMsays the phone has gone all but silent. Police say it's served its purpose, and they stopped taking calls at 5 p.m. Monday.

"I didn't expect to get so many calls," said Cmdr. Vincent Rozon, who heads the SPVM's major crimes unit.

Rozonsaid there hadn't been a noticeable increase in calls to police offices in Montreal before the line was set up, but that "we felt a need, that people were denouncing to media and that the first door to go through should be police."

In a newsrelease sent Monday, police said they wanted to stress how important it is to continue toreport sexual assaults.

"It's important that those acts do not go unpunished," Rozontold CBCNews, explaining that victims can report by calling 911 or by visiting their local police station.

"Don't hesitate to call."

'Role model effect' helped push victims to report

Of the 463 calls fielded between Oct. 19 and Nov. 6, the SPVMsaid 98 resulted in sexual assault files being opened, 295 cases were determined not to be of a criminal nature, and 34 reports were passed along to other police forces.

Rozon said seeing people with high profiles come forward to report publicly what they allegehappened to them helped encourage other allegedvictims to go to police.

• Quebec TV personality Julie Snyder files sexual assault complaint against Gilbert Rozon
• After high-profile sexual assault allegations, calls flood police and frontline centres

"I haven't done any scientific studies, but I'm under the impression that this role model effect gave victims courage to say if those people can do it, so can I," Rozonsaid.

Sexual assault sensitivity training

Rozon says his unit comprises 33 full-time investigators, of whom 25 are women, and that they all receive sensitivity training on how to handle reports ofsexual assault.

He acknowledged victims face several barriers in reporting sexual assault, including feel revictimized when telling their story.

• Flood of #MeToo sexual assault stories shatters 'culture of silence,' creates bonds

Since the hotline was set up, two more members of Montreal's Crime Victims Assistance Centre (CAVAC) were added to the team, he said.

Rozon says the hotline was set up due to "exceptional circumstances" and that Montreal police would take the measure again if it had to.

"But knock on wood I hope it doesn't happen again."