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For Immediate Release
October, 04 2018, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Yasmina Dardari, (407) 922-8149, yasmina@unbendablemedia.com
Sexual Assault Survivors from Maine to Sen. Collins in New Letter: 'We Urge You to Prevent Kavanaugh's Confirmation to the Supreme Court'
A group of sexual assault survivors from across Maine have joined together to send an open letter to Senator Susan Collins demanding she believe survivors and publicly commit to rejecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. The letter, which was organized by UltraViolet Action, a leading national women's group, comes after Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh's testimonies before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and the committee's vote to advance the confirmation to the Senate floor.
The letter reads:
Dear Senator Collins,
MAINE
A group of sexual assault survivors from across Maine have joined together to send an open letter to Senator Susan Collins demanding she believe survivors and publicly commit to rejecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. The letter, which was organized by UltraViolet Action, a leading national women's group, comes after Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh's testimonies before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and the committee's vote to advance the confirmation to the Senate floor.
The letter reads:
Dear Senator Collins,
We write as survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence urging you to publicly commit to
rejecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court.
We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. We believe Deborah Ramirez. We believe Julie Swetnick.
We believe survivors. We have all the information we need to know Kavanaugh should never
step foot in the Supreme Court.
Violence against women is an epidemic in this country: 1 in 3 women have been sexually
assaulted. If you vote to confirm Kavanaugh, you are sending a clear and devastating message
to millions of survivors that what happened to us doesn't matter, and that a man who sexually
abuses women can still win a seat on the highest court in the country.
We urge you to side with survivors and women, and prevent Kavanaugh's confirmation to the
Supreme Court. Millions of survivors of assault will be watching this vote--and we won't ever
Forget.
Sincerely,
Meryl P., Bangor, ME
Rose G., Monroe, ME
Mags W-M, Minot, ME
Ellen and Bill D., Bar Harbor, ME
Adair D., Bath, ME
Julieanna C., Madawaska, ME
B A W., Bath, ME
VIEW THE LETTER HERE: https://d2486uwqr5x79k.cloudfront.net/images/Survivor_Letter_-_Collins.pdf
Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer of UltraViolet Action and a Maine resident, explains:
"In the past two weeks, Dr. Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick have bravely spoken up about sexual abuse by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. These women have risked their physical and emotional safety to save the country from having a sexual predator sit on the highest bench in the land. Now, sexual assault survivors in Maine are asking that their Senator believe these stories and stand with them in rejecting Brett Kavanaugh's nomination. But for Senator Susan Collins, overwhelming testimony of sexual abuse from these women doesn't seem to be enough. Senator Collins' failure to publicly denounce Kavanaugh sends the message that she doesn't care about survivors of sexual violence. This is shameful, and Collins' constituents will not forget it."
UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.
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