An advocate for survivors of sexual assault hopes testimony given by Christine Blasey Ford in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee empowers other women to speak up.
Blasey Ford testified Thursday in a hearing seen around the world about sexual misconduct allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Sherry Lee Benson-Podolchuk retired from the RCMP in 2009 due to bullying and harassment.
Benson-Podolchuk said Blasey Ford’s testimony is another significant moment in the #MeToo movement.
“What she did yesterday is she shared her trauma,” said Benson Podolchuk. “Not only first with her therapist or her family, then with the world, knowing full well she would be damned if she spoke up and damned if she didn’t speak up.”
“I think that it was so important to share that trauma in as many details and be able to explain what happened from her perspective.”
Blasey Ford, a university professor, accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct dating back to when they were both in high school.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
Megan Mann, a counsellor with Klinic Community Health’s sexual assault counselling program, said survivors have been talking about the story.
She said people are having different reactions to the attention it’s getting.
“We’ve had people say it’s empowering to see survivors coming forward,” said Mann. “For others it’s overwhelming; they feel it is triggering.”
“Everybody’s healing journey is very different.”
Mann said the tides are shifting thanks to the #MeToo movement and that more survivors are speaking out about sexual misconduct.
She said it’s ultimately up to each person to decide if they want to come forward.
She pointed to the importance of third-party reporting as an option for people to come forward with experiences.
The program allows survivors to report assaults to community agencies, like Klinic, which will then forward complaints to Winnipeg police or the RCMP without identifying the victim.
Benson-Podolchuk said coming forward couldn’t have been easy for Blasey Ford.
“Anytime there’s a position of power there’s always that fear, who’s going to believe me.”
