Some rape crisis centres report spike in calls since start of Hockey Canada sexual assault trial [Video]

WARNING: This article references sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone impacted by it.

Some rape crisis centres are reporting a big jump in calls since the start of the high-profile trial of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018.

At the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, there’s been a 25 per cent spike in the number of women asking for help or to talk about their own experiences with sexual violence, said Karley Doucette, the centre’s education and communications manager. 

“We’re seeing a little bit of everything on the support line,” she said. “We have survivors in the community who are retraumatized by what they’re reading and seeing in the news. They’re reaching out for support because maybe it’s bringing up memories and experience they’ve had and …