Brea Hutchison, executive director of Sexual Assault Centre Kingston, says calls to their crisis and support line have increased dramatically since people have been told to stay home during the current pandemic. “We’ve seen about a 40 per cent increase in crisis contact,” Hutchison said. “That’s enormous; we’ve haven’t seen a 40 per cent increase in such a short period of time in my time at the centre.” Kingston Interval House runs a shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence.
Interval House’s executive director, Pam Havery, says they haven’t seen that increase in their organization, but she’s concerned.