I believe her.

There is no statute of limitations on trauma.

For those in the back, for the people who don't understand what I mean by that- my trauma, our collective traumas- we, the survivors of sexual assault- they do not go away. We carry them, a burden we are never able to fully put down. Process, cope with, try and put behind us- absolutely. But they do not go away. Scars may fade, but they remain with us.

Look to the women protesting outside of the Kavanaugh hearings during the live coverage, all the women and men who wore black on Monday to show support of Christen Blasey Ford. Look to the accounts of the women with earphones in, crying silently over their devices on their way to work today, the countless social media posts of women identifying themselves as fellow survivors. We are glued to this coverage- we know how high the stakes are. I cried in my office by myself, watching. Waiting.

Women like me, are reliving our traumas played out on a national stage- Blasey Ford is us, and we are her. She is our voice, quavering and and terrified. We're watching as her character is assassinated, as she is subjected to death threats, all because she had the audacity to come forward and speak her truth- a truth that should without a shadow of a doubt effect a nominee for the supreme court.

Who in their right mind would subject themselves to this kind of scrutiny? Who would go through what she is going through? Who would submit to a polygraph, ask for a full FBI investigation, if they did not whole heartedly stand behind what they are saying?

When someone has the power to be one of the voices for an entire country, to make decisions that will ripple outward for years to come, to sit on our highest court- you had better represent the best of us. You had better be looking to the future, and how you can aid in continuing our legacy as a leader in this world. You cannot be someone who harkens back to a time that is dying, and in its death throes is doing it's best to belittle and limit me and mine from being equal participants in this democracy.

For those who would come back at me with, "innocent until proven guilty" I take issue with you throwing that into the ring. It does no mean innocent no matter the consequences. Kavanaugh is essentially interviewing to serve the United States of America- and lets be serious, if this was any other job interview, he most likely would have been taken out of the running for even having these kinds of allegations brought forth against him.

To those who saying her timing is suspect- when it comes to justice, is there such a thing as poor timing? I think we all know the answer to that.

I am afraid. I'm afraid we learned nothing from Anita Hill. I am afraid we will learn nothing from these hearings. I'm afraid another older white man will help navigate this country and make decisions that will follow me for the rest of my life, far beyond his own life.

Stop with your disgusting victim shaming, your questions, your cover ups. Stop asking the survivors why we wait, what we were wearing, if we were drunk. Was I asking for it? Was she asking for it?

I believe her, because I am her. She is not just someone's sister, friend, or daughter. She is someone- period. She is a person, a citizen, a hero. She is standing up, with the full knowledge her life will be forever changed, and most likely not for the better.

And I'm standing behind her. Because I believe her.