Anita Hill, who testified about allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 1991, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on Tuesday, calling on the government to “do better” in its handling of the upcoming testimony of the woman who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault than it did for her in the 1990s.
“That the Senate Judiciary Committee still lacks a protocol for vetting sexual harassment and assault claims that surface during a confirmation hearing suggests that the committee has learned little from the Thomas hearing, much less the more recent #MeToo movement,” Hill wrote in the op-ed.
“With the current heightened awareness of sexual violence comes heightened accountability for our representatives,” she continued. “To do better, the 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee must demonstrate a clear understanding that sexual violence is a social reality to which elected representatives must respond. A fair, neutral and well-thought-out course is the only way to approach Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh’s upcoming testimony.”
Read the full op-ed here.
Joe Biden where are you? You set the standard.
Yep, we need to hear Joe speak out on this.
Prof. Hill was so preternaturally controlled in those hearings. She was awesome. Of course, I realize that is my privilege speaking since she likely had to learn to closely control her emotions at a very young age in her educational and government career.
Biden’s behavior at the time was reprehensible. However, he has said that he owes Anita Hill an apology. I hope he’s done so.