Readers React: Men who don’t know what it’s like to be assaulted as a teen should stop attacking Kavanaugh’s accuser

To the editor: Naturally, the woman who was allegedly assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh more than 30 years ago is attacked. For some reason, the accuser appears to be the villain in most of these stories.

But if you have been a victim of assault, I can attest to the hesitancy to disclose any attack. In 1958, I was a victim of assault by an elderly relative. I still remember exactly what happened and what he said to me. I was 8 years old and did not tell my parents.

I finally told my husband and sisters two years ago, nearly 60 years after the incident. To this day it feels embarrassing and it is not something I talk about. But I feel compelled to tell my story, because it is real. I did not think my mom would believe me. Still, I feel better having told my family after many decades.

My heart aches for Christine Blasey Ford. Her reputation will be smeared. All the politicians who may want to attack her should go to their families and find out what deep secrets are hidden away. The feelings of shame and embarrassment are real.

Deborah Wright, Rancho Santa Margarita

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To the editor: Talk about a tempest in a teapot.

Am I to understand that Kavanaugh may have committed sexual assault at the age of 17 because he, fully clothed and drunk, allegedly laid on top of another teenager?

What do I know? I am only 92, but when I was a teenager, sexual assault was when a male forcefully penetrated a female.

Not to mention this: Why was this accuser allowed to attend a party where alcohol was being served when she was only 15? I am the mother of two adult females, and they were not allowed to attend parties like that when they were only 15.

Is it necessary to point out that Kavanaugh is not the same person he was when he was 17? Give me a break.

Barbara Hardesty, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Robin Abcarian’s column provides an excellent lens through which to see the issue of sexual abuse then and now.

The trauma inflicted by physical assault is held by survivors in their bodies and in their psyche. The trauma abuses over and over again; it scars the survivor for life.

My hope and prayer is that Ford is not abused again by the senators. The testimony of the two allegedly drunk adolescents accused of being present during the incident — Kavanaugh and his friend — does not matter. If they were drunk, of course they do not remember.

Neither their bodies nor their careers were damaged.

Jo’Ann De Quattro, Alhambra

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