Finally, after a week of waiting, we heard the voice of Christine Blasey Ford — the woman who alleged Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when she was 15 and he was 17. Prior to that, we heard a lot of other voices, too. We heard Kavanaugh's voice, denying the allegations against him; we heard the voices of other survivors, saying "Me Too;" we heard the voices of two other women with further allegations against Kavanaugh. We heard from people on social media, both defending Ford, and tearing her down. But given that Ford said she and Kavanaugh were teenagers when the assault allegedly happened, and that much of the conversation around whether the allegations disqualified Kavanaugh from serving as a Supreme Court Justice centered on whether he made a "youthful mistake," teenagers were notably missing from the discussion. As a panel of adults prepare to decide whether or not Kavanaugh becomes the next Supreme Court Justice — a decision that will impact people of all ages — Teen Vogue checked in with young people about their opinions on Kavanaugh, and the conversation surrounding the alleged assault.
Overwhelmingly, the young people we talked to said at 17, you know sexual assault is wrong.
"I know right from wrong. I'm 15, and I know no means no," one young girl said.
"There's a lot of talk about 'if this is true, he was just a kid....'" another boy added. "I think even at that age you have empathy. I don't think empathy is something you really grow into. At 17, it was plain to me that no meant no. You have to be very receptive to the situation around you. I think if he can't do that at 17, or 19, it doesn't really matter. It's not going to change throughout the course of his life."
Others said the hearings put in stark comparison the different expectations society holds for girls and boys.
"Why should boys have the opportunity, or the right to be irresponsible or disrespectful because they're boys?" one girl said. "Does that mean if girls make the mistake they have to be held accountable for it just because they're girls?"
But one big question, one young person said, is what nominating Kavanaugh to the court would say to young boys across the country.
"Maybe it was 35 years ago and he was 17, but his past, that could be my tomorrow. That could be my friend's tomorrow. That could be this weekend for the friends that I have, in their basement, in my town," one girl said. "We're saying to those boys, 'it's ok, you get a ... free pass.'"
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