Twenty-seven years ago, Anita Hill was in the same exact spot that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was in the week before last. Accusing Judge Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, Hill stood before an all-male Judiciary Committee and told her story. She was treated badly, accused of lying, and attacked. Her credibility was put to the test. Then, on Thursday, September 27th of 2018, Dr. Ford experienced the same thing as Anita Hill.

In the summer of 1982, Dr. Ford was just 15 years old. She claims to have experienced sexual harassment at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. “I was pushed onto the bed, and Brett got on top of me,” she said in her testimony. “He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me, and I tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time, because he was very inebriated, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit underneath my clothing. I believed he was going to rape me.”

At the very beginning of Dr. Ford’s statement, she expressed that she was terrified and that she was not there testifying because she wanted to be but because she had to be. Throughout the hearing, it was obvious that it was a sensitive topic for her to talk about and that it had altered her life. After the attack, she experienced anxiety, phobias, and PTSD-like symptoms. Talking about it made her relive the trauma, so she kept it to a minimum. She has been picked apart by all forms of social media and has been accused of lying.

Many people have asked the question, “Well, why did she just come out now if it happened that long ago?” The answer is, she did. Dr. Ford talked about it in the confines of therapy. But she felt it was necessary to go public with it now to make sure she spoke out against Kavanaugh. She was extremely clear with all her details of the attack and admitted everything that occurred. When she was asked the question, “You are telling us this could not be a case of mistaken identity?” by Senator Dianne Feinstein, her response was, “Absolutely not.” She was beyond positive with her story and gave clear details.

Millions of victims and survivors of sexual assault are inspired by the courage of Dr. Ford. Sharing her story made a significant impact on the future of our country and, for a time, presented an obstacle to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. After the hearings, President Trump allowed the FBI to conduct an investigation of Kavanaugh. The way Kavanaugh acted during the hearings was childish and showed our country that he definitely has something to hide. There were multiple ways for Kavanaugh to clear things up in a more civilized way. From the start, for example, he could have agreed to an investigation and showed that he had nothing to hide, or he might even have just said that he was a teenager doing dumb things. Instead, he fought the senators, and added more reason for the people to distrust him. He acted like a 13-year-old and gave unclear and vague answers to the senators’ questions.

Dr. Ford is a strong and intelligent woman who just wants the best for our country. She stood in front of America and shared her story to make sure that the Supreme Court was in good hands. She believes that Kavanaugh doesn’t belong on the Supreme Court, and I stand with her.