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This Is How People Across The Country Let Everyone Know They #BelieveSurvivors
While Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was divisive from the beginning because of his conservative political leanings, the allegations of sexual misconduct against him (which he has denied) have turned his confirmation process into a very tense moment. On Monday, nationwide protests against his confirmation erupted. Tweets about the national walkout to protest Kavanaugh show you how heated this moment really is.
On the first day of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings in the Senate, protestors showed up dressed up in costumes from the Handmaid's Tale in order to take a stand against what they saw as Kavanaugh's opposition to Roe v. Wade, as Huffington Post reported. His hearings, then, saw fiery exchanges about women's rights with female senators like Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris. After the hearings ended, a report came out revealing that Christine Blasey Ford claimed that Kavanaugh had attempted to rape her when the two of them were both teenagers. And on Sunday, the New Yorker published allegations from a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, who alleged that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party during their freshman year at Yale. Kavanaugh has denied both of these claims.
Now, the discussion of these allegations and Kavanaugh's potential confirmation has engulfed the news cycle — and it could do the same to the streets of America. Here are some tweets from the protests.
1The Women's March Is There
The Women's March is speaking out strongly for women.
2A Private Walkout
People found ways to participate even if that didn't mean walking out of an actual school or office.
5Elected Officials Also Stood Up
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut joined students at Yale.
6People Prepared With Black Clothes And Signs
The whole purpose of the walkout is a reminder to believe those who speak out about their stories of sexual assault and harassment.
7Many Major Groups Were Involved
Planned Parenthood has been a staunch defender of women's rights, and its employees didn't bow out this time.
8A Place For Everyone
Inclusivity is important in the push to believe survivors, because anyone can be a survivor.
9A Matter Of Human Rights
The right to live without the fear of sexual assault should be a basic one, right?
10Dogs, Of Course, Allowed
At least one canine companion showed up for the cause.
11A Turning Point?
This could be a moment that protestors — and the rest of America — remembers. Maybe it will have a lasting effect on a young girl somewhere who, because of it, will grow up to have political ambitions, the executive director of Run For Something wrote.
This is a difficult moment for survivors of sexual assault, as they've had to watch lawmakers — including the president — treat women telling their stories of alleged sexual assault with skepticism. It's unclear whether conversations will start changing immediately — or even if it will halt Kavanaugh's confirmation. However, there's no doubt that the subject of sexual assault, and how to handle the repercussions it has on survivors, is on many people's minds.
