October 2018
Joint Statement by International Women’s Convocation and Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation on Brett Kavanaugh’s Appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court

Addae A. Kraba, president of the International Women’s Convocation, and Claire Sexton, president of the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation, have issued a statement on Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court:

For decades, a culture of misogyny and rape has allowed men to act with impunity and without consequence. In 2017, it seemed that a cultural shift was in the making. The #MeToo and the #TimesUp movements unleashed an unprecedented global activism against sexual harassment and violence.

However, Brett Kavanaugh’s lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court has highlighted again the defiant toxic masculinity of the world we live in. It revealed that women who come forward against powerful men that sexually assaulted them can be mocked, disbelieved, and disregarded.

We believe survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment. We believe Professor Anita Hill. We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Because we believe survivors, we cannot be silent about the profound harm in confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation is a defeat for survivors of sexual assault. It is a step backwards for #MeToo. It is a rollback of hard-won rights.

We pledge to monitor vigilantly the arguments before and the decisions made by the Supreme Court of the United States, and advocate for the inherent worth and dignity as well as individual right of conscience that undergird true reproductive justice.