Christine Blasey Ford has made it obvious that she is not interested in being the face of a movement. The spectacle of testifying about sexual assault before the Senate Judiciary Committee terrified her, she said. There was assuredness but also reticence in her body language. She emphasized that she is “independent” and “no one’s pawn.” When she could speak in the language of science she preferred to do so, so as to dissipate accusations that she was making herself a martyr, or that her testimony was a product of feminist conditioning. Republicans have disparaged the #MeToo movement as a flood of female derangement. They have argued that the sheer number of women telling their stories is evidence of a dormant, liberal hysteria come to the surface. So Ford, who had hoped to remain anonymous, wanted to make clear that she was speaking only for herself.

And yet her testimony before the Senate had an immediate effect, causing other victims of sexual violence to experience a surge of unwanted memory. In recent days, we’ve seen people share their stories on Twitter under the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport. On Wednesday, during a break in Ford’s testimony, women watching the hearing called C-SPAN to share stories live on the air. They were Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Their narrations were vivid and jagged, evidence of Ford’s expert observation that trauma may visit the brain “episodically,” the recall more automatic than intentional. Hilary, of Pittsburgh, recounted being in college, having her drink spiked, and fighting off an aggressor. Brenda, of Valley Park, Missouri, is seventy-six years old. In tears, she spoke of being sexually molested in the second grade. The breakdown of her composure was as eloquent as Ford’s astounding poise. “You get confused, and you don’t understand it,” Brenda said. “But you never forget what happened to you.” When Ford’s time before the Senate finished, the calls to C-SPAN continued.