“Just shut up and step up. Do the right thing, for a change.”

“I just want to say to the men in this country: Just shut up and step up. Do the right thing, for a change”, said U.S. Senator Mazie Hirano on September 18, 2018. Senator Hirano speaks for me, and I think she speaks for many in this country.

Professor Christine Blasey Ford has stated that Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh assaulted her when he was 17 and she was 15. I believe her. And more to the point, I think Judge Kavanaugh lied when he denied this assault ever took place. But I am not the judge or jury here. Unfortunately, that is left to the members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee who are unwilling to even give Dr. Blasey a fair investigation by the FBI. This includes our own Senator Ben Sasse, who is too busy writing ethics bills and criticizing the ethics of others to look at himself and what he and his fellow committee members are doing.

Women who come forward to testify against their assailants are vilified in the news media and social media, harassed, and threatened. Dr. Blasey has had to leave her home and take steps to protect her family. A GoFundMe fundraiser for Dr. Blasey’s security costs has at the time I am writing this blog post raised over $200,000 from over 6,000 individuals.

Senators have asked why Dr. Blasey didn’t come forward sooner. The story of what happened to 16 year old Amber Wyatt when she reported her rape by two high school senior athletes will tell you everything you need to know about why a girl would choose not to report an assault. Ms. Wyatt’s ordeal began 12 years ago after she reported the rapes, went to the hospital for a rape exam, and was interviewed by local law enforcement. No charges were ever brought, and she was driven out of her high school. This story is a must read.

As a baby prosecutor I worked with a group to educate the public about sexual assault. I spoke to men’s service groups (you know, the ones with animal names) in the 1980’s. I learned first hand how hard it was to talk about sexual assault in front of a group, and I wasn’t a victim describing what had happened to me. All the groups I talked to were polite and listened intently. I could see them thinking about how an assault victim could be their wife, their sister, their daughter, and even their mother. I believe that the hearts and minds of people can be changed.

Attorney Rachel Denhollander was the first woman to come forward to bring charges against Michigan State doctor and convicted pedophile Larry Nassar. She said, “I lost my church. I lost my closest friends as a result of advocating for survivors who had been victimized by similar institutional failures in my own community. I lost every shred of privacy.” Her story is sobering and well worth the read.

This is why women and girls do not want to come forward to testify. This is why anyone who says Dr. Blasey is making this up does not fully understand what her testimony is costing her today and will cost her forever. Dr. Blasey is not “mixed up” as Senator Orrin Hatch alleges.

Chief Counsel Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network calls the assault described by Dr. Blasey as “rough horseplay”. The Network is spending $1.5 million dollars to get Judge Kavanaugh confirmed. More on the Judicial Crisis Network can be found at my blog post I don’t care what Jane thinks!

In a very clever opinion post, Alexandra Petri writes, “I am a horse. I know horseplay. That’s not what this is.” Her post put the only smile on my face about this subject.

I can imagine that a 17 year old boy could get drunk, assault a girl, and be embarrassed about it since he is now a powerful judge. What I do not understand is how he can not be sorry for what he did and lie to Congress about it. I come to this conclusion because his partner in crime, Mark Judge, is unwilling to testify before Congress that he doesn’t remember any assault. I don’t understand why he would refuse to testify if he honestly was not a witness to this assault.

To keep perspective on this topic, I urge you all to remember that Girls Always Matter! Simcha Fisher says this eloquently in her post.

And while all this is going on, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to let the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expire on September 30, 2018. For more on the importance of VAWA, read my earlier post.

So please, contact your Senators and Representatives and let them know how you feel about the Judiciary Committee hearing, lack of FBI investigation, and the expiration of VAWA. To support sexual assault survivors, support Voices of Hope in Lincoln, Nebraska.

And remember – Vote on November 6, 2018!

Author: bachigirl

I am a lawyer, a knitter, a crocheter, a neophyte weaver, a very mediocre golfer, a native Nebraskan, and a reader. View all posts by bachigirl