Grey's Anatomy's Rape Kit Episode Increased Searches About Rape, Sexual Assault: Report
Grey’s Anatomy is continuing to break barriers.
According to a recent Reuters Health report, an episode of the beloved ABC medical drama — which aired in March and centered on sexual assault — had an immense impact on viewers. The groundbreaking episode, titled “Silent All These Years,” featured a woman named Abby (Khalilah Joi), who was violently raped.
As audiences recall, doctors Jo Karev (Camilla Luddington) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) tended to Abby, who agreed to have a rape kit done. The episode showed in detail what is involved in a rape kit — and it was awkward, uncomfortable, seemingly endless, and a television first.
Because of Abby’s physical and emotional trauma, she expressed a fear towards men. In an effort to make her feel safe, Jo and Teddy wheeled Abby on a gurney down a hallway, which was filled on both sides by female hospital employees (played almost entirely by the women who work on the series). The powerful moment was met with an outpouring of praise by viewers.
At the end of the episode, Grey’s star Ellen Pompeo encouraged viewers to ask for help if they were personally affected by sexual violence. She explained how to reach the free National Sexual Assault Hotline operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, or RAINN (800-856-HOPE or via online chat hotline.rainn.org/online/).
In an effort to study the impact of the episode and Pompeo’s message, researchers analyzed Google and Twitter trends for two weeks before and one week after the episode aired. According to Reuters Health, conversations about RAINN on social media drastically increased after the episode aired.
RELATED: Grey’s Anatomy EP Reveals What Almost Wasn’t Shown During That Groundbreaking Rape Kit Scene
“Engagements with the @RAINN Twitter account and tweets mentioning ‘sexual assault hotline’ increased by 1,097% the day after the episode,” Trevor Torgerson, a medical student at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, told the outlet.
Additionally, the National Sexual Assault Hotline call volume increased by 43 percent in the 48 hours after the episode and the volume of searches for the term “RAINN” was 41 percent larger than expected; search volumes for “rape” and “sexual assault” were 8 percent and 9 percent higher, Torgerson and fellow colleagues at OSU discovered, according to Reuters Health.
RELATED: A Shocking Number of Rape Kits Are Untested — Mariska Hargitay Wants to Change That
According to the outlet, studies have shown viewers can be spurred to take action after learning about something on television.
“TV storylines can have a powerful impact on viewers, and when coupled with an action item, such as a hotline or website, we often see a significant spike in outreach directly after the show and public service announcement,” Kate Langrall Folb, director of Hollywood, Health & Society at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center in Beverly Hills told the outlet.
In March, Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes tweeted about the importance of the episode.
“Making scenes like this is what Shondaland is all about,” said Rhimes. “So proud.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
