Time’s Up, the organization behind the #MeToo movement, is calling for a national walkout and moment of solidarity at 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 24 to show support for Christina Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
The group organized the national walkout on Sunday in a tweet that asks for citizens to wear black clothing and join women’s groups across the nation and walk out of wherever they are at 1 p.m. For those unable to walk out during that time, the tweet asks for people to take a selfie by themselves or with a group and post to social media with the hashtag, #BelieveSurvivors.
Survivors must be heard. Wear black and join the national walkout on Monday, Sept. 24 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT in solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. https://t.co/XcLucrziMJ #BelieveSurvivors #TIMESUP pic.twitter.com/s3RQY40Mf5
— TIME’S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) September 23, 2018
Christina Blasey Ford, a psychologist and statistics professor at Palo Alto University in California, first reached out to California Senator Dianne Feinstein in July with her report of sexual assault by Kavanaugh in 1982 during a high school party when she was 15 and he was 17. Ford claims a drunken Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her while covering her mouth so she was unable to scream. She also claims another classmate, Mark Judge, watched the encounter, but did not report any wrongdoing.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations and remains his innocence. On Sunday, Ford and her lawyers – Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and Michael Bromwich – announced she would testify in an open hearing on Thursday, Sept. 27 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kavanaugh will also attend the hearing and have a chance to respond to any allegations brought against him in front of the committee.
A second woman has come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh on Thursday. The woman, Deborah Ramirez, told The New Yorker about an alleged encounter with Kavanaugh at Yale University in 1983 where Kavanaugh allegedly exposed himself to her during a party.
