Survivors of sexual assault spoke out in Hartford Thursday about the handling of the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford says that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a house party when the two were in high school.
She is in discussions to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
Lindsey Jones was also assaulted at a house party when she was a teenager.
“It’s been 15 years and I am still in pain, and the people who assaulted me have not faced a single consequence," she told a press conference Thursday. "Meanwhile, especially over the last two years, I continue to find evidence that my teenage self was right — no one cares about the victims of sexual assault.”
Tara Flynn was repeatedly raped by a man whose children she babysat for, beginning when she was 14. She said it’s a secret that many people keep.
“One out of four girls and one out of six boys - it’s in everybody’s family," said Flynn. "And I just ask the senators to think about if it was your mother, or your sister or your daughter — what would you want for them?”
Ford has been forced to leave her home and go into hiding after her allegations went public.
Laura Cordes of the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence said the death threats and other harassment that Ford is now facing follow a familiar pattern.
“Women who speak their truth about harassment, rape, sexual assault, are routinely shamed, scrutinized, threatened, cut off from friends and family and social networks, and somehow repeatedly blamed for the acts of sexual violence perpetrated on them,” she said.
Survivors said the pressure being put on Ford to adhere to a tight deadline for giving testimony is likely causing her additional trauma.
Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is among the Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who are calling for an FBI investigation before Ford or Kavanaugh testify.
He said having Ford testify without an investigation would be a grave disservice to her and would never fly in a court of law.
"It would be ludicrous for any of us who have done trials to think about putting a crime survivor on the witness stand without a full, fair investigation," said Blumenthal. "And yet that is what our Republican colleagues now seemingly plan to do."
Earlier this week, Ford's attorney said she would not testify unless an FBI investigation was carried out, but on Thursday she indicated she may appear before the committee if the terms are fair and her safety can be assured.
