CommentsBCK FILE-Last Wednesday, online news outlet The Intercept reported that Senator Dianne Feinstein was in possession of a letter detailing an attempted sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
With the #MeToo movement front and center, it’s important that we look at the backstory of the letter writer’s experience, as well as the role of confidentiality in sexual harassment and assault cases. Do victims have an obligation to come forward?
Back in the early eighties, research psychologist and University of Palo Alto professor Christine Blasey Ford was a Maryland high school sophomore attending a party at a Montgomery Country home when she alleges Kavanaugh, then a student at Georgetown Preparatory School, wrangled her into a bedroom, pinning her on her back while he groped her, grinded against her, and tried to remove her clothing. She adds that Kavanaugh held his hand over her mouth to muffle any screams. She was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend, conservative writer Mark Judge, jumped on top of them.
Ford says Kavanaugh and Judge were intoxicated. Both men deny the allegations, although Judge has chronicled excessive drinking during his high school days in two of his books, a 1997 memoir Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk, and God and Man at Georgetown Prep,in which he described the school as an institution rampant with heavy drinking.
The psychologist says she has struggled with the consequences to her family that might arise from publicizing what happened. However, this summer, when Kavanaugh was under consideration to replace Justice Kennedy, she contacted her congressional representative, Anna G. Eshoo, as well as the Washington Posttipline. A few weeks later, she sent a letter to Sen. Feinstein with the expectation of confidentiality.
Feinstein issued a statement that she had “received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.”
In the meantime, Ford hired Debra Katz, a D.C. attorney known for handling sexual harassment cases, and took a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent that concluded her recollections were truthful.
The FBI, once it received a copy of the letter with Ford’s name redacted, passed it on to the White House and it was placed in Kavanaugh’s file. The White House passed it onto the Judiciary Committee, where it was made available to all senators.
This past Friday, the content of the letter was published in the New Yorkerwithout Ford’s name. A character reference letter signed by 65 women who claim to have known Kavanaugh when he attended the all-boys high school was released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).
Ford made the decision to come forward. Her attorney said, “Victims must have the right to decide whether to come forward, especially in a political environment as ruthless as this one. She will now face vicious attacks by those who support this nominee.”
For victims of sexual assault, coming forward can be a tremendous challenge. According to statistics reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 63% of all sexual assaults are never reported to legal authorities. In fact, rape is the most underreported of crimes.
Victims have been historically stigmatized and blamed. One in five women will be raped in her lifetime. Stranger rape accounts for just two in ten of rapes and one in ten women has been raped by an intimate partner.
The decision to come forward is a personal choice, underscored by fear, worry of retaliation, and even feelings of guilt. We must respect the feelings and decisions of victims while providing a safe place to come forward.
The consequence of not reporting is the risk that the perpetrator will go on to assault again. Other women will be victimized, and assailants will know they will probably get away with minimal risk. The answer rests in empowering women.
With the advent of the #MeToo movement and an increasing number of women telling their stories, hopefully fewer women will shy away from reporting assault and rape. Ford had to weigh the pushback she and her family might receive, as well as the lack of privacy but in the end, she came to realize her duty to come forward was an important one.
(Beth Cone Kramer is a professional writer living in the Los Angeles area. She covers Resistance Watch and other major issues for CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
