Some 50 supporters of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford rallied outside the Federal courthouse downtown San Diego on Sunday to denounced Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The premise for the rally was political — supporting a woman's claim of sexual assault during hearings for a Supreme Court nominee.
But it became bigger than politics.
Many came out to share their own stories of sexual assaults hoping that women in the future would not suffer the same fate.
They called on Senators not to appoint Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. They said they believe Ford's account, accusing the nominee of sexual assault.
As the chanting subsided women stepped up to share their stories of assault and why they did or did not report.
For some, it was very difficult.
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“I've never shared a story until today,” Terri Leyton said. "I was up early practicing in the mirror with tears in my eyes, reliving my sexual assault. It just makes me crazy that we have to do this in public to be treated equally in the United States of America.”
They also shared why they didn't report the incidents.
“I had my own story that I didn't report,” Wendy Batterson said. “ And I'm still not ready to talk about it and it's been over 30 years.”
One woman, however, said she's coming forward for her daughter. She doesn't want the next generation to have to go through the difficulties of reporting sexual assault.
“I did come forward about a sexual assault as a high school student, at La Jolla High School and that's now in the media,” Loxie Grant said. “It took me 13 years to get that man out of the classroom. And I fought every day and I'm still fighting for transparency in the school district.”
Victims say they hope people who report these incidents will not be harassed, ridiculed or ignored in the future.
Demonstrators said they will be closely watching the hearings in Congress this Thursday.
