It looks grim but we need to fight like our lives depend on it. Here are some reasons to keep fighting the good fight against the Kavanaugh confirmation.
I was sexually assaulted by one of my father's friends, a respected physician, when I was 19, while getting my very first pap smear, at my first "adult" doctor's appointment after leaving my childhood pediatrician. It altered the course of my life forever.
My story is not extraordinary. In fact, it's a common experience for many women.
The Kavanaugh confirmation is a consequential decision. It shows every sexual violence survivor the real truth about our situation. It's not that they don't believe us, it's just that the men in power don't care.
We have to keep fighting. Here are some reasons to stay motivated to fight this confirmation:
1 in 5 American women experience a completed or attempted rape in their lifetime
1 in 3 American women experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime
The story gets even worse if you are a multi-racial woman growing up in America. 49% of Multi-racial women experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.
If you're a woman or you know a woman or you have a mother that was a woman, this is a compelling bit of info: 91% of rape victims and sexual assault are women.
In 8 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator. This horrible violence is not committed by the boogeyman—it’s usually by someone a woman knows and trusts. The clean- cut quarterback or the nice guy who goes to your church. As my grandma used to say: The devil doesn’t always look like the devil.
If you're a woman or you know a woman OR you have a mother that was a woman, this is a compelling bit of info: 91% of rape victims and sexual assault are women.
Too many lives have been altered and destroyed due to sexual violence. It’s not about sex—it’s about power and degrading another human being in the most intimate way possible. Serial predator Donald Trump gained help from a hostile foreign power and won the 2016 election. He and his cronies have shattered most of the norms and laws we hold dear. We cannot put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, and let another sexual predator weigh in on the rights of Americans for the next 40 years. Trump likes the judge because he’s a bully and because Kavanaugh will give him cover.
We need to fight this like our lives depend on it---because they do.
The afternoon I heard Dr. Ford’s story, I was at the grocery store. Living my life. When the news story popped up on my phone about Dr. Ford’s experience, and how Brett Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth and turned up the music? I was instantly 19 years old again, in stirrups at my first OB/GYN appointment. With my doctor’s hand over my mouth so no one could hear me scream. I’ve barely been able to function the last 2 weeks, and I could not stop crying after watching Dr. Ford’s testimony.
No one should be put through what she was put through, only to be told it didn’t matter. She does matter and enough is enough. Failure is not an option. Call. Protest. Get on social media and share this.
