Yesterday, millions of women watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford share the vivid details of the night she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Ford politely answered questions about the alleged assault and calmly recounted her trauma and the lingering effects of that summer night in 1982. It was emotionally exhausting, to say the least.
Hearing the intimate details of what happened prompted women to share their own experiences with sexual violence. Some turned to the National Sexual Assault Hotline —The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) reported a 147% increase in calls Thursday night — and others took to Twitter to release their outrage.
Here are a few of the most cathartic, fiery threads written by women. If you’re feeling alone or hopeless, give them a read. (PSA: If you click on the tweet, you can read the full threads.)
Blogger Abby Honold shared how to help victims of sexual violence:
Every once in a while, sexual assault hits the media in a big way. And yet we hardly ever elevate the work of advocates for victims of sexual violence, who work day in and day out to make a better world & are rarely heard. There are lots of constructive things you can do to help.
— Abby Honold (@abbyhonold) September 28, 2018
Jewish professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein detailed her road to understanding feminism:
https://twitter.com/IBJIYONGI/status/1045635940784517122
Listening to Kavanaugh vehemently deny the allegations reverted Abigail Disney back to when she was 6 years old, suffering under a roof with her “angry, alcoholic father”:
1) In all seriousness, let me say this. I feel for Dr Ford, I have experienced sexual assault. But nothing today has been as triggering for me as the rage and entitlement in this man. I had an angry, alcoholic father. He had an inside face and an outside face. pic.twitter.com/FkycM451al
— Abigail Disney (@abigaildisney) September 27, 2018
If you need a laugh, Bess Kalb’s thread satirizes Ford’s interrogation:
Rachel Mitchell's hunched over, smirky, condescending "fess up, little lady" attitude toward Dr. Ford with hole-poking sidelining questions is the most heart-clutchingly malevolent bullshit of this whole thing.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) September 27, 2018
This lawyer compared Ford’s hearing to Anita Hill’s. In 1991, Hill testified against Judge Clarence Thomas, accusing him of sexual assault:
I don’t remember the Anita Hill hearings (I was 1), but I’ve seen the movies/documentaries and read the book.
I know a lot of people are in deep despair right now but I think that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is another step towards progress. Still too slow. Thread:
— Aditi Juneja (@AditiJuneja3) September 28, 2018
This thread is filled with horrific emails about Ford sent to a journalist covering the hearing. “Blasey Ford was a whore in highschool and in college…She was a slut who slept with a bunch of guys and thinks she has dirt on him,” one email read.
https://twitter.com/mjcontrera/status/1045432323913773057
Lastly, not a thread, but a lovely illustration and reminder that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is the definition of the word “hero”:
