Christine Blasey Ford testified on Capitol Hill in front of the Senate judiciary committee, and many in the public eye believe that her testimony against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was credible.

Both Ford and Kavanaugh had the opportunity to tell their side of the story. But, Ford showed emotions within her testimony that lead individuals to believe that there was  some truth to what she is saying.

“I believed he was going to rape me,” said Ford in her testimony.

At first this accusation started out as anonymous, but Ford built up the courage to tell her story to the world. Americans across the country tuned in to hear what she had to say about the night of her interaction with Kavanaugh in 1982. It was brave of her to get before a committee and relive that night no matter how long ago it was. Still many didn’t believe her, but why would she subject herself to all this attention if she was not telling the truth?

The issue of sexual assault is one of importance. One in five women will be raped at some point in their lives.It has been a prevalent issue in regard to public figures “getting away” with it, so her subjecting herself to questioning, being in the public eye, and hearing that her story does not matter shows that there is truth to what she is saying.

“I believe it was civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school,” Ford said in her opening statement.

It was important to hear her story because it plays a role in the election of Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court seat. Since Ford came forward with her accusation, two other women have spoken out against his as well.  

Their stories matters as well. There should be an end to shaming women about telling their sexual assault stories. Women should not be afraid to come forward and explain what happened to them, even if who their accusing is a public figure.