Christine Blasey Ford on Detaching Yourself from the Outcome

Before September 2018, the public didn’t know Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. She was a busy mom and professor at Palo Alto University and Stanford. Then, she leveled a sexual assault accusation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a SCOTUS nominee. She testified as 5 million people tuned in. Her life turned upside down, naturally. She needed security to go…well, anywhere. Strangers sent her and her family death threats. Five years later, Christine shares how she navigates her new normal, plus the story behind the headlines and soundbites. 

In this episode, Christine shares: 

• The scenes leading up to her 2018 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committe

• What she makes of her unique connection to Anita Hill

• What you can say to sexual assault survivors instead of “I believe you”

• How writing her memoir, “One Way Back” was both therapeutic and traumatizing

• Her relationship with her father upon writing Justice Kavanaugh's father, post-confirmation

On the Stress Leading Up to her Testimony

Christine: It was a very summer starting with Justice Kennedy's resignation. I was at the beach and away for the summer and every day just got more and more stressful trying to figure out  who I was going to tell and how I was going to share the information with people in Washington D.C. It felt like the most stressful thing that I had been through until the aftermath, which became the more stressful thing. That summer I could barely think of anything else other than: what am I going to do? How is this going to happen? What's the best way to share this information? The day before was the most stressful day of all. And then, once I got to the seat,  it was pretty overwhelming. You probably saw how overwhelmed I looked. But I will say that  sitting in the seat and actually testifying was a little bit easier than the time leading up to that day. 

On Connecting with Anita Hill and Other Survivors

Christine: I was a little bit stuck for a while thinking we're the only two people that could ever understand this situation where you're coming from a place of civic duty and patriotism and you're trying to help the country and then people that you're trying to help actually hurt you.  It's very difficult. Now, having connected with other survivors across all 50 states and 42 countries,   I'm learning that being in court or being in another venue is also incredibly stressful.  Yes, we were in a unique forum, but other people have their own stressors when they're bringing their story forward and going through a process in a different setting.

On Alternatives to Saying “I Believe You” to Survivors 

Christine: It's a nice thing to say. You're okay saying that to people. We understand that that comes from a really nice place of support. So it's fine and it's a great place to start. It shows care and validation. But if I said I got in a car accident or I had some other problem, I don't think that in those situations people respond with, “I believe you.” They respond with, “are you okay? Or is there something that I can do? I'm here to listen.” 

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