By Grace Lewis || Contributing Writer
In the wake of the #MeToo and Times Up initiatives, our world is slowly but surely becoming a place where sexual misconduct and assault are not allowed and are punishable. Celebrities and politicians have been exposed as more and more men and women have come forward revealing their experiences with sexual assault. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh now finds himself under fire after a former classmate, by the name of Professor Christine Blasey Ford, accused him of attempted rape during a party in their high school days. Kavanaugh along with his nominator, President Trump, have denied the allegations. The Supreme Court nominee released a statement saying, “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time” (CNN).
Despite Kavanaugh’s constant denials of his past actions, the accusation itself deems to be very credible. To add to the great detail of the accusation, Ford both passed a polygraph examination and mentioned the incident in a couples therapy session back in 2012 about how two boys at a party in high school held her down, covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and groped her (The Washington Post). The Republican Party is now trying to paint this accusation as a false attack at Kavanaugh’s character as he is possibly about to be appointed to a lifetime position that could have a significant impact on the fate of our country. Kavanaugh’s nomination is now in question, and Republicans are trying to continue the confirmation process with seemingly little pause due to the accusations.
Democrats on the other hand are insisting that the hearing, which is supposed to take place this coming Monday, September 24th, be pushed back to allow time for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into Blasey Ford’s claim (CNN).
The question remains, if Kavanaugh’s nomination is still intact, do we want to have someone who was even accused of sexual assault given the power of a Supreme Court Justice? Do we want him to have the ability and power to repeal cases and precedents that, for example, discuss what should happen if a woman becomes pregnant after she is raped? After the past few years in seeing how different celebrities are treated after being accused of sexual misconduct and their practical banning from their industry, such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, shouldn’t we hold the same precedent for the people who help govern our country?
Sexual misconduct is something everyone has been affected by in our society whether they realize it or not. Progress is being made, as seen in the initiatives such as the ones mentioned in the beginning of this article. But if Kavanaugh’s nomination goes through, we as a society would be taking several steps back. Having a Supreme Court Justice that has been accused of sexual assault essentially says that his actions were okay and opens up the door for future problems in normalizing sexual assault. Our society must work together in continuing to eradicate the constant plague of sexual assault, and in doing that, we must hold those who are guilty accountable for their actions.
First year Grace Lewis is a contributing writer, her email is glewis@fandm.edu