Updated December 16, 2020 6:18 p.m. EST
By Gilbert Baez, WRAL Fayetteville reporter
Fayetteville, N.C. Advocate volunteers in Cumberland County help rape survivors at the hospital and to navigate the legal system after an attack.
But caution about the pandemic led the board of directors for Rape Crisis of Cumberland County to decide not to enter hospitals, making it for advocates to give that help. The board cited the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state in making their decision. Domestic violence is up,” Executive Director Deanna Gerdes said. “Sexual assault is up. And they seem to be more violent than what they were before Covid. About two weeks ago, they made the decision to pull us back out because the numbers were rising.