After Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday — where she fielded questions about her accusation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, calling it her “civic duty” despite the terror she felt — Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund (PPMAF) partnered with allied organizations to host candlelight vigils at Congress Square Park in Portland and at West Market Square Park in Bangor that evening.
Dozens of Mainers huddled close together, many survivors of the same kind trauma Ford recounted earlier in the day, as they helped one another keep their flames burning. Attendees hoped to show future generations that, when looking back at this “watershed” moment in history, they “came together as a community, as a country, and stood with survivors and with each other,” according to a statement from Nicole Clegg, vice president of public policy for PPMAF.
During Ford’s testimony, calls to the National Sexual Assault Hotline spiked 147 percent, with RAINN, the anti-sexual violence organization that manages the hotline, saying its online chat feature had “unprecedented wait times.” Ford’s testimony, and the days leading up to it, was “intense and exhausting” for Clegg and many others, so providing community spaces where people could support and inspire one another afterwards was important, she said.
Reverend Anne Fowler, an Episcopal priest who spoke at the Portland vigil, recalled her own experience of abuse as a young girl. When she would visit her grandparents’ home in Falmouth, the grandmother she adored would tell her to go upstairs and “say hello to Grandpa.”
Fowler would go, reluctantly, and her grandfather — who had been fired from a law firm for reckless sexual misconduct — would take her into his lap and molest her. He told Fowler that what he was doing to her was their “secret.” Her extended family knew how he behaved, and yet Fowler was always told to climb the dark stairs to his study and say “hello” to her grandfather.
Like many other survivors, she had repressed her memories for a long time. Exact details of the abuse had remained elusive until, at the age of 40, a conversation with a therapist brought them back.
“When I had told my family, their reactions were as classic as my experience of recovered memories,” she said at the vigil. “They had to believe me because of my grandfather’s reputation, but their responses weren’t very helpful.”
One “alcoholic night,” her mother said to her, “Well, of course he did it to me too, that’s why I always had trouble with God the Father,” what Fowler described as the “most painful sentence” her mother ever said to her.
When he learned of his daughter’s abuse, her father said, “Well, I’m glad I didn’t know it at the time, or else I would have had to do something.”
“I believe there are undoubtedly more women who suffered abuse at [Judge Kavanaugh’s] hands,” she said. These other women, Fowler said, need help speaking out.
While Maine’s own right-wing media personalities have characterized Ford’s sexual assault claim as a false smear, attendees interviewed at the Portland vigil disagreed.
“It was hard to watch [her testimony] and not feel that she was telling the truth,” said Falmouth resident Judy Webel, who believes that Kavanaugh clearly lied during his testimony. “I don’t think age is an excuse.”
Betsy, from Portland, praised Ford’s composure and clarity, despite the intensity of the Republicans’ response to her answers.
“She was really clear and present. Her testimony was impeccable,” she said.
When asked if Kavanaugh’s treatment during his own testimony was, as suggested by Texas Senator John Cornyn, comparable to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, Betsy said he acted less like he was being persecuted and more like a “privileged white man who has done what he’s done” and “is shocked that he’s being called out on it.” His behavior during his testimony reminder her of a frat boy.
“And this is the person they want on the Supreme Court?” she asked. “It was gross, and it was disgusting.”
Maine U.S. Senator Susan Collins, widely seen as a swing vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, remained publicly undecided Thursday evening.
Mainers dealing with issues related to sexual assault can call a 24-hour helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
(Top and middle photos: Mainers at the Portland vigil on Thursday evening | Beacon)
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