In his role as president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump’s words matter and can send powerful messages for good or for harm.
It is the position of the Ethics Institute of Northeastern Pennsylvania at Misericordia University that the president’s mocking of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of alleged sexual assault at a rally on Oct. 2 in Southaven, Miss., is harmful and cannot stand in the public record without strong disapproval.
Like our sister and brother organizations that promote human dignity and mutual respect, the Ethics Institute assesses President Trump’s mocking of Dr. Ford as a disrespectful affront by our nation’s most influential leader to survivors of sexual abuse. His words, tone and gestures reflect a public witness which lacks sufficient understanding, sensitivity and compassion, and which reinforces an attitude of disregard for the dignity of those who come forward to tell their stories of abuse.
The members of the Ethics Institute are respected community leaders, seasoned professionals and strong advocates for positive social change. Their work collectively includes many years of teaching, counseling, pastoral ministering and community service. Consequently, they are keenly aware of the lifelong impact that sexual harassment and abuse has on those who have been assaulted.
In addition, the board members have seen the courage it takes to share this experience with anyone, and they recognize that people who are abused must be confident that there are safe places and safe people (advocates) who will listen to them without judgment. The research is clear – most abuse goes unreported because of fear of condemnation, which unfortunately the president’s speech has reinforced as a sad reality.
We ask all people of goodwill to join us in rejecting words and actions that belittle or add additional pain to the existing trauma of those who experience abuse. In addition, we challenge ourselves and all our fellow citizens to become better educated about sexual abuse and the obstacles that those who have suffered the trauma of abuse face in attempting to come forward, as they advocate for their own and others’ need for support, understanding, and respect. In this way, we can all be allies to those who need us most.
Submitted on behalf of the Board Members of the Ethics Institute of NEPA at Misericordia University
James M. Calderone, Director
