If Christine Blasey Ford's testimony stirred up painful memories, here's where you can get help - Los Angeles Times
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Science & Medicine

If Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony stirred up painful memories, here’s where you can get help

Christine Blasey Ford during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, where she recounted her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
By Karen Kaplan
 and Melissa Healy
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Millions of people heard Christine Blasey Ford tell the Senate Judiciary Committee about a long-ago gathering where she said Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, pushed his body against hers, tried to remove her clothes and held his hand over her mouth as she tried to scream for help.

The story was difficult to take in, and that’s especially true for victims of sexual assault.

If Ford’s testimony stirred up painful or traumatic memories, there are places you can turn for help, including:

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• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) staffs a National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline that connects callers with trained specialists in their area. The toll-free number is 800-656-HOPE (4673). Live chats are also available.

• Loveisrespect, formerly the National Dating Abuse Helpline, fields phone calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 866-331-9474. Help is also offered via text messages (text LOVEIS to 22522) and through online chats.

• The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence offers links to a variety of hotlines for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, members of the LGBTQ community and more.

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• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network also has a list of hotlines for victims of child sexual abuse, dating abuse, domestic violence and other kinds of crime victims.

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Follow me on Twitter @LATkarenkaplan and “like†Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

Melissa Healy

Melissa Healy is a former health and science reporter with the Los Angeles Times who wrote from the Washington, D.C., area. She covered prescription drugs, obesity, nutrition and exercise, and neuroscience, mental health and human behavior. She was at The Times for more than 30 years, and has covered national security, environment, domestic social policy, Congress and the White House.

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