It was the early 1980s. An innocent house party in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., a17-year-old boy sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl and he got away with it. Brett Kavanaugh is now President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Kavanaugh's victim, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, has recently come forward with claims about the traumatizing event. Kavanaugh had taken her to a bed, groped her, and tried to removed her clothes while covering her mouth with his hand.
Kavanaugh has completely denied the allegations.
Dr. Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that she "would be prepared to testify next week," despite the FBI not conducting a full investigation at that time.
With the trial quickly approaching, it was clear that not much had changed since 1991.
In 1991, Clarence Thomas, George H.W. Bush's Supreme Court nominee, was accused by Anita Hill of sexual harassment in the workplace. Hill had to testify to a group of all white men, many of whom already had stated that they did not believe her before she even entered the court. Hill had three women willing to testify in support of her, but Joe Biden did not call them.
Clarence Thomas remains on the Supreme Court to this day. Nearly three decades ago, Hill was completely dismissed, and many even called her crazy. Victims were not being heard.
Victims are still not being heard.
Dr. Ford is soon to face 11 white republican men who will determine the fate of Kavanaugh's vote.
Many people refused to believe Dr. Ford, saying that it is just a tactic to ruin Kavanaugh's chances. They ask "why now?" and "why didn't she say something back when it happened?"
What was not understood in 1991, and what is still not understood today, is the emotional pain and PTSD that victims face. It was not easy in the 90's to just come out and accuse a white male. Many victims were too afraid of what might happen to them, and some victims even wonder if it was their own fault.
Dr. Ford is receiving death threats. Dr. Ford has had to relocate her family out of their home. Dr. Ford's case is not being taken seriously.
This case not only will affect politics, but it will be a test of the #MeToo Movement. Today, more than ever, women are feeling more comfortable speaking up about sexual assault that they have faced in their lives. These kinds of attacks stay with a person for their entire lives. But as a country, we need to work on making the victims be taken seriously so that they can begin to feel some sort of closure and comfort.
Anita Hill and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford are just two women who have been taken advantage of, spoken out, and then not listened to by a room full of older, conservative, white men.
It's been nearly three decades since the Anita Hill case, and it's starting to look like not enough has changed in our courtrooms. How the court treats Dr. Ford will show all of America if we have a court that we can proudly say cares about our women.
