Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON–The news that Brett Kavanaugh allegedly committed sexual assault as a college student confirms what we’ve already known: Brett Kavanaugh is unfit to serve as a judge. He’s not only unfit to sit on the Supreme Court, but he’s also unfit to hold the position he currently occupies on the United States Court of Appeals.

Brett Kavanaugh must withdraw his nomination to the Supreme Court, and he must also step down from the federal bench. If he refuses to do so, appropriate investigations and judicial proceedings should commence.

The Senate Judiciary Committee should not turn Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing into a trial at which women face hostile cross-examination from a partisan attorney and see their personal trauma minimized or dismissed.

We know that the Judiciary Committee is led by men with a history of opposition to decisive measures that protect women from sexual violence. The six ranking Republican members of the Committee–Grassley, Hatch, Graham, Cornyn, Lee, and Cruz–each voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act of 2013, which passed the Senate 78-22. We know that two of these men, Hatch and Grassley brutally grilled Anita Hill and voted to elevate Clarence Thomas to the highest court in the land.

We demand that these allegations be investigated. We demand Kavanaugh step back from this nomination and step down from the federal bench. He should not be in the position to “judge” anyone. Enough is enough!

Contact

Brittany T. Oliver, comms@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON–“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has said about the sexual assault perpetrated by Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Blasey was afraid for her life, and criminal conduct that put her life in danger must be investigated.

NOW supports calls made by Anita Hill, among others, for a truly independent, neutral investigative body with training in trauma-informed investigations to make a report to the committee. Dr. Blasey has said she is willing to appear before the committee next week, and she deserves to be treated with respect, and sensitivity to the trauma she has endured as a result of her assault.

Dr. Blasey also deserves the full measure of justice for new threats to her life and safety. She and her family are unable to safely occupy their home, and she continues to receive death threats and vicious attacks on social media. We know that these threats can spread like wildfire, inciting violence and extremism. NOW calls for law enforcement to investigate these threats and to provide protection for her and her loved ones.

NOW supports Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as she seeks an appropriate and serious hearing. And we also support her right to justice from a legal system that has failed for too many, for too long. Enough is Enough.

Contact

Brittany T. Oliver, comms@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON–In 1991, Angela Denise Wright never got to tell her story to the Senate Judiciary Committee of being harassed by Clarence Thomas. She was waiting outside the hearing room on Thomas’ nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court but was never called.

Neither were two other women who had similar testimony to give. The Senate only heard from Anita Hill, and the all-white male panel of Senators tore her to shreds.

We must not allow history to repeat itself on Monday. If more women come forward who can confirm Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s account, or if they have important testimony of their own—they must be allowed to speak. Chairman Grassley has already ruled he won’t hear from any other witnesses. Not Brett Kavanaugh’s drinking buddy, Mark Judge, who not only witnessed but participated in the assault and has written controversial things about women.

Survivors may be confronting the same choice Dr. Ford faced so courageously. She shouldn’t have had to deal with the invasion of privacy and personal invective she’s facing today—and nor should anyone else.

But Dr. Ford made a brave decision to come forward. The Senate should hear from her, and from any other woman who finds herself on the brink of a historic decision.

Contact

Brittany T. Oliver, comms@now.org, 202-628-8669