BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Victim Rights Law Center has seen a 30 percent increase in the number of sexual assault survivors reaching out for help since June, when some of the COVID-19 restrictions started to be lifted.
Executive Director Stacey Malone said victims have felt more comfortable getting out of their homes, away from the abuse, to ask for help.
Malone said:
Sexual assault survivors are looking for an emergency restraining order, and our lawyers are helping survivors do that remotely. Either telephonically or virtual, through Zoom with the courts. And we're seeing some landlords were getting frustrated because the abuse happening in the home, there would be loud noises, there would be damage to the property, and they were essentially evicting survivors right out of their homes, onto the streets during the pandemic. Our lawyers were protecting them and helping them stay in their homes
The law center has created an emergency legal fund to raise 200 thousand dollars so their attorneys can continue helping the number of survivors that continue to come forward.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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