During Dr Christine Blasey Ford‘s courageous testimony about allegedly sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a teen, #whyididntreport began trending on Twitter. Many other women — including several celebrities — revealed that they too were sexual assault victims and described why they didn’t report their cases to the authorities. Fuller House‘s Jodie Sweetin is bravely sharing what happened to her and why most women don’t report their assaults. “I stand with her. I AM her. I was the girl who never reported because I blamed myself. I was the woman who never reported because I didn’t want to go through the pain and ridicule. The same sort of pain that I witnessed Dr Christine Blasey Ford walk through today,” she wrote in a moving Instagram post on Sept. 27.
What we saw today is about a much bigger issue of survivors of sexual assault being persecuted, judged and re-traumatized when they do come forward. We are told that if it were ‘real,’ we would have reported it at the time. Often when we were merely children or young girls. Girls who were assaulted and then had ‘whore’ written on lockers because rumors spread. Girls who were afraid of becoming a pariah in their social circles because they told the truth. It was easier to stay quiet,” the 36-year-old actress continued.
“And as we grew older and it happened again, we had been trained to remain silent. We had learned the lesson that no one will believe us. That even if someone DOES, it holds no consequence. We had watched other women come forward, only to be told ‘there were no witnesses, so it’s your word against his,’ knowing that ‘his’ story is always more believed than ‘hers,'” Jodie shared. Sadly she’s pretty spot on with that observation.
“This isn’t about politics for me. This is about a panel of people brushing aside someone’s trauma. I will not sit still. I will not stay quiet. Although I may never be as brave or as unflinching in the face of such an inquisition as she was today, it has given me hope. That maybe, just maybe, female survivors of sexual assault may be heard. Even if our voice is barely above a whisper.
Jodie added the hashtags #imwithher #listentoyourwomen #tellyourtruth #ihearyou to the end of her post, and the accompanying photo showed her in a camoflage jacket with the phrase “What doesn’t kill you f**ks you up mentally” written on the back. Actresses Sarah Hyland, 27, and Busy Philipps, 39, also came out with heartbreaking stories of their own unreported sexual assaults in the wake of Dr. Blasey Ford’s brave testimony.