New York rape reports up 22% 'thanks to #MeToo movement'

'An historic underreporting is finally being addressed,' city mayor says

New York's mayor partially attributed rise to #MeToo movement (AFP/Getty)

Reports of rape in New York City were up 22 per cent in 2018, partially thanks to victims being empowered to come forward amid the #MeToo movement, the city’s mayor has said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was speaking at a monthly crime statistics meeting on Thursday, said he agreed with the New York Police Department (NYPD) that an “historic underreporting is finally being addressed”.

There were 1,795 reports of rape in the city over the past year, 328 more than 2017, according to police. Officials said 401 incidents of reported rapes happened in previous years, up from 250 historic rape reports in 2017.

"I think the #MeToo movement is a part of it,” Mr De Blasio said.

Last April, amid the rise of #MeToo, the NYPD launched a campaign encouraging victims of sexual assault to come forward.

NYPD commissioner James O'Neill said: "Our public awareness program for people to come forward with sexual assault complaints, I think that's a big part of why that number continues to rise.”

Officials said more than 300 rapes were reported by victims simply walking into their local police station and talking to an officer.

"To me that's a trust issue. It means we're building trust that people will walk into a precinct and speak to maybe the cop on the phone, maybe the desk officer and explain to them what happened to them,” said Lori Pollock, NYPD chief of crime control strategies.

The #MeToo movement spread first on social media in the autumn of 2017 following the sexual abuse allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. It highlights the sexual abuse and mistreatment suffered by women, often at the hands of powerful men.