Republican support for Kavanaugh reopens wounds
Twenty-seven years ago, many of us watched the confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas in dismay. We remain haunted by memories of the brutal cross-examination of Anita Hill by an all-male Judiciary Committee determined to show that Professor Hill’s accusations of sexual harassment were a lie.
We are supposed to learn from our mistakes. Yet here we are.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will be forced to endure a similar ordeal on Thursday. She must relive an attempted sexual assault that occurred when she was only 15. This re-traumatization will be excruciating.
This is a story as old as time. But we are supposed to be in a new time. The #MeToo movement has led to dramatic changes in Hollywood, corporate America and professional athletics. There is a new resignation or multimillion-dollar penance payment — or both — announced every day. Even the pope is facing calls for his resignation over charges that he ignored the sexual misconduct of the former cardinal in Washington, D.C.
Yet in the midst of this reckoning, the U.S. Senate appears poised to confirm a new justice to a lifetime appointment on our Supreme Court. He will be forever beyond accountability’s reach.
We respect the principle that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. But in this case, there is no opportunity for a court proceeding. The statute of limitations has run. So we must make a choice, believe the victim or not.
Only victims of sexual assault are labeled “the alleged” victim and put on trial. Fear of not being believed is among the reasons victims of sexual assault do not report their experiences. This, along with shame, self-blame, fear of getting someone in trouble, fear of retaliation, and fear of being re-traumatized by the judicial process contribute to the fact that more than 63 percent of rapes go unreported.
We suspect Dr. Ford felt all of these things that night 36 years ago. She suppressed what happened to her, like many survivors of sexual assault do. They suffer in silence and move forward, often building fulfilling lives. And then sometimes, unexpectedly, something happens and the wound is reopened. Like when someone who tried to rape you gets nominated to the Supreme Court.
We applaud Dr. Ford, and now Deborah Ramirez, for finding the courage to speak up. And we believe them.