Christine Blasey Ford Speaks About Personal Security Costs Post–Kavanaugh Hearing, Pledges Leftover Donations to Survivors
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the researcher and academic who told members of Congress she was sexually assaulted by now–Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has broken her silence after testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. Since the tumultuous weeks after her allegations made their way to Senator Dianne Feinstein, and then to the public, and finally to the hearing where she answered questions on the event for several hours, Blasey Ford has stayed out of the public eye, though reports about how difficult her life has become in the wake of coming forward have trickled out. Now, after closing a GoFundMe account that was created on her behalf to pay for security services and other expenses, we’ve heard more from Dr. Blasey Ford herself.
“Words are not adequate to thank all of you who supported me since I came forward to tell the Senate that I had been sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh,” Blasey Ford wrote in a statement on the GoFundMe account’s page. “Your tremendous outpouring of support and kind letters have made it possible for us to cope with the immeasurable stress, particularly the disruption to our safety and privacy. Because of your support, I feel hopeful that our lives will return to normal.” Her message was the latest since a brief update on October 3 in which Blasey Ford referred to having to move four times for security reasons; Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on October 6.
We now have a clearer picture of what life has been like for Blasey Ford, who taught at a small university in Palo Alto when she suddenly found herself at the center of the national maelstrom. In her statement, Blasey Ford revealed that part of the $647,610 in donations “allowed us to take reasonable steps to protect ourselves against frightening threats, including physical protection and security for me and my family, and to enhance the security for our home,” like paying for a security service since September 19 that has only “recently begun to taper off” and “a home security system; housing and security costs incurred in Washington, D.C., and local housing for part of the time we have been displaced.”
Blasey Ford also shared that she would be donating leftover funds after the security costs were fully paid for to trauma survivors and that she was currently researching appropriate organizations. “Although coming forward was terrifying and caused disruption to our lives,” she wrote, “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to fulfill my civic duty. Having done so, I am in awe of the many women and men who have written me to share similar life experiences, and now have bravely shared their experience with friends and family, many for the first time.”
