Montreal police launch sexual assault hotline amid rise in abuse reports

Following bombshell sexual assault allegations against Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and big-name Quebec media personalities, Montreal police have set up a new phone line to gather reports of sexual misconduct.

Through the new line, Montreal police have received more than 270 reports of sexual assaults since last Thursday, a department spokesperson said.

Police say they are taking the increased reporting of sexual assault seriously and have assigned nearly 30 detectives to answering the calls, with an additional 15 expected to join in the next week. All the detectives have specific knowledge and training in the area of sexual assault, police said.

“We wanted to make sure whoever called in got the best possible response right away,” police spokesperson Marie-Claude Dandenault told VICE News.

The uptick in sexual assault calls to Montreal police and the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre appear to have been triggered by the now more than 60 people who have come forward with sex abuse allegations against Weinstein, first reported by the New York Times on October 5, sending a thunderbolt through Hollywood. In response, women across social media began using the hashtag #MeToo, which manifested as #MoiAussi in Quebec. Montreal women stepped forward with their own allegations against media bigwigs Eric Salvail, Gilbert Rozon, Gilles Parent and Michel Brûlé.

VICE News reached out to other municipal police forces across Canada to see if they have plans for similar phone lines.

Toronto Police spokesperson Mark Pugash told VICE News they have not seen the same increase in sexual assault reports following the allegations against Weinstein and have no plans for a dedicated phone line.

“We have not found ourselves in the same situation [as Montreal police],” Pugash said over the phone Thursday. “I checked with our sex crimes unit and we have not seen here what they have seen there.”

Police forces in Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary told VICE News they have no plans to set up a similar phone line. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, anyone who is a survivor of sexual assault can call 514-280-2079 and report the incident to Montreal police (SPVM). The phone line isn’t operating on the weekend.