Hillary Should Stop dismissing Juanita Broaddrick’s Sexual Assault

If Hillary Clinton wants to champion women’s rights, she should stop excusing the sexual predation of her husband, former president Bill Clinton. For someone so interested in combating the so-called War on Women, she has failed to address one of the most real issues women face—that of sexual violence.

Anyone old enough to remember Clinton’s presidency is aware of the scandal and eventual impeachment over his behavior and prevarications on what truth actually is during the Lewinsky affair. In the background was Hillary, supporting her husband and family. Less covered and discussed were accusations of rape against the former president by Juanita Broaddrick, a former Clinton supporter.

What Happened in 1978

In 1978, Broaddrick sought out Clinton to assist in his bid to be governor of Arkansas. While meeting with him to discuss his plans should he win the election, he allegedly held her down, injured her, and raped her. Broaddrick told four friends and her future second husband at the time of the attack about it, and hotel records back up her recollection of where the attack happened.

From Slate’s 1999 coverage of the accusations: “Five people say Broaddrick told them about the rape immediately after it occurred. A friend and co-worker named Norma Kelsey says that, 21 years ago, she found a dazed Broaddrick with bloodied lip and torn pantyhose in their shared hotel room and Broaddrick explained that Clinton had just raped her. (Clinton is supposed to have bitten her on the lip just before raping her.) Her current husband–then her lover–says Broaddrick told him about the rape within a few days of the event. Broaddrick was, at the time, married to another man, whom she didn’t tell about the assault. And three of Broaddrick’s friends–one of whom is Kelsey’s sister–say she told them about the rape shortly after it supposedly occurred.”

What happened in ‘78 matters today, and reflects on Hillary Clinton just as much as it does Bill. Hillary Clinton may claim she supports and believes women when they come forward about rape, but her behavior with Broaddrick doesn’t show this extends to women when they accuse Bill.