Pencil Drawing of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford

"Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter," the psychology professor said. "And their having fun at my expense." 

Drawing of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Pencil, paper. 

This is my humble drawing of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who met with the Senate Judicial Committee today. She testified that Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, sexually assaulted her at a party when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh has denied it. I do not believe him. I believe her.

Whatever partial evidence or witnesses could now be brought forward, whilst the GOP rampages toward a vote to confirm Kavanaugh, which has prevented vetting or investigation of the nominee, would likely prove inconclusive. But it is a subversion of procedure not to call for further investigation, especially since there have now been additional allegations against Kavanaugh brought forward by others.

Truisms abound. Like the one that there's never just one case like this. There may well be a trail of crimes and infringements. And, tragically, crimes of sexual violence happen to 1 out of 3 women victims, according to the recently defunded National Sexual Violence Center. That statistic is tragic in its own right, but the politicization, commercialization, and monetization of sexual assault, that is, treating this as a televised courtroom drama, compounds the horror of it. People now make gargantuan money off other people's tragedies through media coverage. (I'm referring to the monetization of today's broadcasted public testimonies and the tsunami of social media activity leading up to and around it.)

Finally, it should be abundantly clear why so few survivors of sexual crimes come forward. We do not want to be revictimized by family, relatives, friends, colleagues, or any part of society, particularly conservatives and politicians,  among whom sexual assault is apparently at best misunderstood  and at worst a crime they  themselves have committed and with which they are complicit. 

This evening I honor the bravery of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who  came forward to tell her story under scrutiny of the Senate Judicial Committee and before a vast television audience. Whether or not the Republican majority succeeds in brushing these extremely serious allegations aside, I hope Dr. Blasey Ford truly understands the breadth and depth to which she has impacted the lives of a multitude of women survivors in her exercise of extraordinary courage.

Updated September 29, 2018: Yesterday a great many activists concerned themselves online and in person with monitoring proceedings in the Senate Judicial Committee. As has been abundantly clear GOP players have been rushing to confirm Kavanaugh and send a final vote to the Senate floor. I was one among many following  these actions minute by minute,  contacting key legislators as needed. The surprising turn of events caused in part by a tsunami of media coverage as two women survivors confronted Senator Jeff Flake culminated in the now ongoing restricted supplementary  FBI investigation and week long delay on a confirmation vote.

Here is a link to my drawing of and narrative about Maria Gallagher and Ana Maria Archilo.

See drawings of and read about more heroic individuals at Justice, Lady Justice and Portrait Drawings: Heroes.