Broadcast journalist Connie Chung wrote an open letter in the Washington Post supporting Christine Blasey Ford, telling the professor who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault that she also was a victim.
Chung, 72, wrote that she was sexually assaulted 50 years ago by the family doctor who delivered her when she was born on Aug. 20, 1946.
“I have kept my dirty little secret to myself,” Chung wrote.
Chung wrote she was attending college when the assault occurred, and while the exact date and year “are fuzzy,” the details remained vivid.
“Forever seared in my memory,” Chung wrote.
What began as a routine gynecological examination became a traumatizing experience, she wrote.
In her open letter, Chung described the incident in graphic detail, writing that after it was over the doctor leaned over and kissed her.
“I don’t remember saying anything to him,” Chung wrote. “I could not even look at him. I quickly dressed and drove home.”
Chung wrote that she may have told one of her sisters about the incident but “certainly did not” tell her parents and did not report him to authorities.
“It never crossed my mind to protect other women,” Chung wrote.
Chung said she later told her husband about it.
“When did I tell him? What year? What date? I don’t remember,” she wrote.
In her letter, Chung told Ford that she was also terrified to reveal her trauma publicly.
“I can't sleep. I can't eat. Can you? If you can't, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can't even cry," Chung wrote. “I don't want to tell the truth. I must tell the truth. As a reporter, the truth has ruled my life, my thinking.”
Chung ended her letter by telling Ford, “Bravo, for telling the truth.”
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