Childhood sexual abuse survivor speaks out against Jeff Sessions' nomination as US attorney-general

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 

• January 13 2017
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• Arielle De Bono

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Sexual-abuse survivor and activist Amita Swadhin has urged the US Senate Judiciary Committee to reject President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Jeff Sessions for attorney-general, saying the prospect of him in the role is "incredibly worrisome".
Representing survivors of sexual abuse and violence, and the LGBTI community, Ms Swadhin was called to testify by Democrats to the committee in the second day of a confirmation hearing for Senator Sessions.



 Mirror Memoirs founder Amita Swadhin testifies at the second day of a confirmation hearing for attorney-general nomination Senator Jeff Sessions, Photo: Cliff Owen

Ms Swadhin said as a survivor of sexual abuse, and a bisexual woman, she doubted Senator Sessions' ability to protect and respect the humanity of all victims of crime equally.
"Despite [Senator Sessions'] claims to be a champion for victims of violent crime, he has not been a friend to vulnerable survivors," she said.
Ms Swadhin told the hearing of her story of surviving sexual abuse through her childhood at the hands of her father, and witnessing the ongoing domestic abuse of her mother.
She explained that she "lives with complex post traumatic stress disorder and struggles everyday to be well" and was one of millions of sexual assault survivors who were triggered when Mr Trump was recorded admitting to forcibly kissing and grabbing women by the genitals.
"It directly and negatively impacts me when people minimise sexual assault, so to hear Senator Sessions initially say President-elect Trump's comments don't constitute sexual assault and to consider him leading the Department of Justice is incredibly worrisome," she said.

Ms Swadhin pointed to her own experience as a victim dealing with the judicial process, explaining that she was not encouraged to seek help and healing by law enforcement. But thanks to the introduction of the Violence Against Women Act, law enforcement was now encouraged to put victims in contact with support services and encouraged them to speak out about their crimes.
Ms Swadhin pointed to Senator Sessions' voting history on the Violence Against Women Act in the US Senate as evidence that his willingness to seek out and uphold justice for all victims was questionable.
Senator Sessions expressed support for The Violence Against Women Act in its early years but voted against the act in 2013 when its protections were expanded to include LGBT, immigrant and tribal victims, who have been recognised as particularly vulnerable.
"Given his voting record on VAWA ... we have no reason to put our faith or our trust in Senator Sessions as attorney-general" Ms Swadhin said.
Her message was supported by a list of victim support organisations and NGOs, including the YWCA, Break the Cycle and The National Taskforce to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.
Senator Sessions also came under fire at the committee hearing over racism. In 1986, a bipartisan committee blocked his nomination to be a federal judge amid allegations of racism after he called the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People "communist inspired" and "un-American".
NAACP president Cornell Brooks also testified against Senator Sessions at the hearing.
"Based on his record and his statements, the NAACP strongly believes that confirmation of Senator Sessions as attorney-general would be bad for America and could exacerbate already deepening racial divisions in this country," he told the committee.
Nominations for attorney-general can be withdrawn by a political party or rejected by the committee. Four nominations for attorney-general have been rejected by the committee in the past.