Opinion: #MeToo about the victims, not a political tool

Victoria Cirilli Allegations of sexual misconduct are frequent today and severely affect both the accuser and the accused. A victim of sexual assault coming forward for the first time, stakes their career, lifestyle, and privacy and has every right to be heard and get a fair opportunity for justice. Quite often, the general public overlooks the basic presumption of innocence for the accused when it comes to these crimes. Since the rise of the #MeToo movement, more allegations of sexual misconduct have been brought to the forefront, and women’s voices have been heard loud and clear. Powerful figures in Hollywood, politics and media have been brought to justice in ways that courts deemed appropriate for their actions. In light of Christine Ford’s accusations against Brett Kavanaugh and the Senate hearing on Thursday, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, chose to ignore the due process and openly stated the political motivation behind her premature decision to condemn him of similar accusations. “I put his denial in the context of everything that I know about him in terms of how he approaches his cases,” Hirono said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “As I said, his credibility is already very questionable in my mind and in the minds of a lot of my fellow Judiciary Committee members, the Democrats.” In this case, it does not help Kavanaugh that in the eyes of Hirono, he is already marked as a politician against “women’s rights” by being a pro-life conservative. Even The Wall Street Journal, which has avoided taking a stance on Kavanaugh, noticed the problematic utilization of #MeToo. It seems like the political implications ofissues are deemed more important than the potential rape or assault of a young woman by some. Politicians don’t seem hesitant in using a convenient claim of sexual misconduct to gain traction and further their agendas. We need to ask ourselves if there should be a difference between accusations against Kavanaugh as a lowly circuit court judge, and as a potential candidate for a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. Hirono and her fellow committee members seem to think that his political philosophy is sufficient evidence to condemn him, but justice for the crime must be based solely on its merits.