JACL Supports Survivors of Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON — The Japanese American Citizens League issued the following statement on Sept. 28.

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In her testimony yesterday, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford provided a vivid, powerful, and harrowing account of her experience as a survivor of sexual assault. Many of us cannot imagine the trauma of reliving those moments in front of a national audience, while simultaneously many of us relived our own traumas by her side as she retold her story.

Sexual violence is all too common in our society, and as frequently as it occurs, there are many incidents that are never reported. For women like Dr. Blasey Ford and Professor Anita Hill to come forward despite their fear and the risks involved is an act of true bravery.

JACL offers its support to survivors that they have their stories heard, believed, and treated with the seriousness that they deserve. Sen. Lindsey Graham was correct that this process has been overtaken by politicization, but that does not alter the clear credibility of Dr. Blasey Ford’s testimony. Despite what we are often led to believe, it is not always the loudest or most assertive voices that are the most credible.

We further commend the bipartisan efforts of Sens. [Jeff] Flake and [Chris] Coons to reopen the investigation and demonstrating that Dr. Blasey Ford, Ms. [Deborah] Ramirez, and Ms. [Julie] Swetnick’s voices have been heard and that we believe them.

In spite of the decision to reopen a limited FBI investigation into the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, we are disappointed the Judiciary Committee was willing to vote Mr. Kavanaugh’s candidacy on to the full Senate without completing a full investigation.

Both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford have had their chance to tell their stories; now it is the responsibility of the Judiciary Committee to find either corroborating or exculpatory information to reach a clearer picture of what happened during the summer of 1982 before making a recommendation to the Senate. We hope this will be accomplished within the brief one-week time extension.

For those who have been impacted by sexual assault and are finding these proceedings especially difficult to follow, we offer the national reporting hotlines with trained personnel to talk about your experience.

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233