Anita Hill Calls for 'Fair and Neutral' Probes of Allegations

Anita Hill, who in 1991 accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearing, is calling for a "fair and neutral" way for the government to investigate sexual misconduct complaints.

In a statement issued to PBS NewsHour in the wake of a sexual assault allegation against high court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Hill said she had seen "firsthand what happens when such a process is weaponized against an accuser and no one should have to endure that again."

"Given the seriousness of these allegations, the government needs to find a fair and neutral way for complaints to be investigated," the professor at Brandeis University urged. "The Senate Judiciary Committee should put in place a process that enables anyone with a complaint of this nature to be heard."

In 1991, when Hill was a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that she had been sexually harassed by Thomas when she worked with him at the Education Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas denied the allegations, and he was confirmed to the bench.

"The reluctance of someone to come forward demonstrates that even in the #MeToo era, it remains incredibly difficult to report harassment, abuse or assault by people in power," Hill said in her statement.

Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor, came forward Sunday to accuse Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both high school teenagers in Maryland in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation.

Both Ford and Kavanaugh will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Monday to be questioned on the matter.

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