One day after Montreal police set up a temporary phone line to receive complaints about sexual harassment, the force has received dozens of calls.
Montreal police director Philippe Pichet said the hotline received 43 calls on Thursday and 10 calls as of Friday morning. Pichet said not all of the calls were formal sexual harassment complaints, noting that some people simply wanted information.
Pichet said, however, that ‘some files’ have been opened.
A team of 30 sexual assault investigators is receiving the calls.
The hotline was set up in the wake of a flood of people sharing their own stories of sexual assault, using the #metoo and #moiaussi hashtags online, as well as highly publicized sexual misconduct allegations againt two famous Montreal men: Juste pour rire / Just for Laughs founder CEO Gilbert Rozon and TV and radio personality Eric Salvail.
Pichet said that in the event of highly publicized accusations, it’s often easier for others to come forward with their own stories to speak out against this type of behaviour.
