September 26, 2018
A statement from the Women’s Foundation of CA
Tomorrow, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, bringing to light her experiences with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his alleged attempt to rape her while they were in high school.
Shortly after Dr. Ford came forward, so did a swarm of misogynistic and toxic remarks aiming to discredit, devalue, and delegitimize Dr. Ford’s concerns and experience. What’s more, even after additional allegations of sexual assault were brought forward by Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick, Republicans in the U.S Senate continue to rush Kavanaugh’s nomination forward and assert that “they have no reason not to believe him.”
In response, countless survivors across the nation have taken to the streets, public forums, and social media platforms to demand that we must #BelieveWomen and #TrustSurvivors. At the Women’s Foundation of California, we stand in solidarity with the chorus of voices speaking out against sexual assault. We believe Dr. Ford, we still believe Professor Anita Hill, and we believe all survivors who are courageously sharing their stories in order to combat gender-based violence that shows up as sexual assault and harassment. As we have seen with the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement, our power is in our ability to bring to the surface what is hidden and made invisible.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled to vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court on Friday morning. Just 24 hours after Dr. Ford is scheduled to give her testimony. This is unacceptable!
It is imperative that the president and his administration address the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh with serious consideration. These are not the kinds of concerns that should just be “plowed through.”
As Dr. Ford takes a bold stance tomorrow in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee we want to make perfectly clear that we support Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. We support calls for a thorough federal investigation. Kavanaugh should not be confirmed or even considered eligible for confirmation until an investigation takes place. We support calls for Kavanaugh to withdraw his nomination. We can no longer hold onto the codes of silence that for generations have allowed men to hurt women with impunity. We must believe survivors.