Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has affected sexual assault survivors everywhere. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party, and had to recount the night in heart-wrenching detail to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Her bravery inspired women like Busy Philipps to come forward with their own stories of sexual assault, and Thursday afternoon Fuller House actress Jodie Sweetin gave her own powerful account on Instagram.
"I stand with her. I AM her. I was the girl who never reported because I blamed myself," Sweetin's post began. "I was the woman who never reported because I didn’t want to go through the pain and ridicule. The same sort of pain that I witnessed Dr Christine Blasey Ford walk through today."
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Ford told the Committee on Thursday that aspects of the night in question have never left her mind, including, "The stairwell. The living room. The bedroom. The bed on the right side of the room ... the bathroom in close proximity. The laughter. The uproarious laughter. And the multiple attempts to escape. And the final ability to do so."
"What we saw today is about a much bigger issue of survivors of sexual assault being persecuted, judged and re-traumatized when they do come forward," Sweetin said of Ford's testimony. "We are told that if it were 'real,' we would have reported it at the time. Often when we were merely children or young girls. Girls who were assaulted and then had 'whore' written on lockers because rumors spread. Girls who were afraid of becoming a pariah in their social circles because they told the truth. It was easier to stay quiet."
Sweetin later adds that it's not about politics for her, but about survivors and the way their trauma is dismissed.
"I will not sit still. I will not stay quiet," she concludes. "Although I may never be as brave or as unflinching in the face of such an inquisition as she was today, it has given me hope. That maybe, just maybe, female survivors of sexual assault may be heard. Even if our voice is barely above a whisper."
Reps for Sweetin did not immediately return Refinery29's request for additional comment.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).