Reflections on Sexual Assault & the Maine Senate Campaign

A credible allegation of sexual assault has been made against Graham Platner, the nominee to face Susan Collins for Maine’s Senate seat. 

First and foremost, we stand with survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and other gendered violence and harm. 

Women who live steeped in a culture of misogyny, and survivors of gender-based violence, don’t usually have the luxury of simple choices. We are surrounded by abusers (known and unknown) in our families, workplaces, and currently in the White House. Because of this, survivors make difficult choices every day to prioritize their own safety and the safety of their loved ones - as well as difficult choices to prioritize the safety of a nation on the brink of authoritarian takeover. 

Graham Platner was never a pure candidate. But he was a candidate calling for a radical overhaul of broken systems, instead of tinkering around the edges of the status quo. Some survivors who watched a nation elect a President who has been credibly accused of sexual assault by at least 26 women; who watched Senator Collins confirm a Supreme Court Justice immediately after hearing a live recounting of his attempted sexual assault - felt the possibility of change was worth the risk of an unvetted candidate.  That’s just the sort of calculus survivors have to make every day. 

The calculus has obviously shifted with this new information. We stand in support of Jenny Racicot, and survivors who are hearing this story from every media source and being reminded of their own experiences and traumas. We don’t know what’s next for Graham Platner or his campaign, but we deserve a better slate of candidates to represent Maine people.  We know this is not about one candidate - it is about a system that expects and accepts misogyny and gender-based violence. We call on the campaign and our political leaders to honor and believe survivors of sexual assault, and to honor and believe that survivors, and voters, are long past ready for a system that truly recognizes and meets our needs. 

In the last 18 months, this country has dismantled systems for survivors of gender-based violence, stood by while women bleed out in emergency rooms, abducted parents and caregivers from their homes and separated families, installed rapists in the White House and across the administration, and passed a budget that systematically grasps the resources of the working class and delivers them into the hands of billionaires, who are using them to fund campaigns to strip our rights and destroy our planet. And Congress has largely stood by - with Senator Collins endorsing most of these efforts. It doesn’t have to be this way. 

There is no perfect path forward, and there has never yet been a perfect path - but this year has shown that no matter the path, it’s clear that voters are ready for candidates with big ideas that challenge the status quo. Our priority at the Maine Women’s Lobby, as ever, is to care for the individuals and organizations in our community, in order to build the most possible power to move the needle toward better policy and better politics. It is imperfect work, but we won’t be deterred - and whatever comes next, we will be there to help voters, candidates, and elected officials center the needs of survivors, caregivers, and families in our democracy. 

If you have experienced sexual harm, no matter who it was, no matter when it was, Maine’s sexual assault helpline is here for you at 1-800-871-7741.