Increased calls to sexual assault helpline take toll on volunteers

Media coverage ofsexual assault and the #MeToo movement have increased calls to sexual assault centres acrossNew Brunswick.

That's both good and bad news for local centres. JennGorham, the program coordinator with the Fredericton sexual assault centre, said staff welcomethe growing awareness around issues related to assault, but are also struggling with a shortage of volunteers to handle the increased volume of calls.

"I think we're seeing people who have a history of sexual violence maybe being more triggered, or being reminded of their own experience with assault," she told Shift New Brunswick.

"I think you're also seeing an increase in situations where people are going, 'Oh wait a minute, what happened to me looks like that as well.' So an awareness that what they experienced was, in fact, sexual violence."

In the past year and a half,Gorham said calls to the centre helpline have tripled, and in some months quadrupled.

Emotional toll

Gorham said as the the calls to the line have increased, the existing volunteer base hasbeen suffering froman "emotional toll."

"It's hard work. We don't ask our volunteers to do an easy task," she said.

She said more volunteers are taking breaks and stepping back from the line, leaving a gap.

"Many non-profits here in the capital region rely on volunteers for some of their services or some of their programming so we're all kind of dipping from the same pool," Gorham said. "I think it's getting trickier and trickier to see volunteers coming out for this kind of work."

Big training requirement

Volunteers at the centre must take 65 hours of training.

"That's the time heavy commitment at the very beginning," she said. But the time commitment aspect eases up after that training.

This is a marathon, not a race. We're talking about institutional change. We're talking about attitudinal change.- JennGorham, Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre

The centre is looking for people who are 19 and older, locally based, and who can attend to a call to the Dr. EverettChalmers hospital.

"It's really just being able to have the time to commit to the training and then to the shifts," said Gorham.

'Institutional change'

Gorham said she didn't expect this kind of impact when the MeToo movement first started, but said she's seeing an actual cultural change when it comes to reacting to sexual assault.

The Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre has been around for 40 years, she said, and historically they've been the ones knocking on doors to spread awareness.

"We've seen a real shift of of groups coming to us asking what we might have to offer or what type of training that might be relevant to them," she said.

She also hopes this type of cultural shift will last.

"This is a marathon, not a race. We're talking about institutional change. We're talking about attitudinal change."