In October 1991, a 35-year-old African American lawyer sat before a panel of all white senators and told them the man set to become the next Supreme Court justice had sexually harassed her.

Anita Hill claimed that Clarence Thomas had told her about his love of pornography, even that involving animals and rape scenes, and bragged of his own sexual prowess. She said he had done so 10 years earlier when he was her boss at the US Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“It is only after a great deal of agonising consideration and a sleepless number – a great number of sleepless nights that I am able to talk of these unpleasant matters to anyone but my close friends,” she said, dressed in a turquoise blouse, her eyes fixed on her written statement.

Thomas adamantly denied the accusations, and many in the country believed him. A number of senators certainly did; he was eventually confirmed in a narrow vote – 52 to 48 – and remains a justice on the court, still denying the accusations made of him. He is now aged 70.

Next week, 27 years later, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a rerun of sorts. Christine Blasey Ford, 51, a professor from California, is set to tell the committee about an incident at a high school party in Maryland three decades ago, when the latest nominee for the court, Brett Kavanaugh, allegedly pinned her to a bed and tried to take off her clothes. Kavanaugh has denied the alleged 1982 incident took place, and will do so again on Monday.

“This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone,” he said.

The questioning of Hill has come to be recognised as one of the ugliest moments in a city where politics frequently turns sordid and distasteful. Many senators appeared to fawn before Thomas and act in a dismissive manner when speaking to Hill. Republican Arlen Specter asked her why she would have been upset if Thomas had spoken to her about “women’s large breasts”. “That is a word we use all the time,” he insisted. “That was the most embarrassing aspect of what Judge Thomas had said to you?”

Joe Biden, the former vice president, chaired the committee and is generally considered to have failed to protect Hill or permit testimony from witnesses who could have supported her. He has frequently voiced regret, though never apologised.

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It would be tempting to think some things have changed and, superficially perhaps, they have. Race will be less of a factor. Ford is white, though three decades on, the committee questioning will contain only three people of colour.

The White House appears to know that in the #MeToo era, it needs to tread carefully. Desperate not to have Kavanaugh lose the support of two pro-choice female Republicans, senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, they need to ensure an orderly process. White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway said Ford “should not be insulted and she should not be ignored”.

But even before Conway had given this reasonable-sounding comment to Fox News, the knives were already out. Donald Trump Jr posted on Twitter remarks that appeared to mock a confidential letter Ford had passed to her local congresswomen and Senator Dianne Feinstein. “Oh boy, the Dems and their usual nonsense games really have him on the ropes now,” wrote the president’s eldest son.

Elsewhere on the internet, conservatives were posting Ford’s personal details – including her address – and suggesting she had been motivated by a case in which Kavanaugh’s mother had ruled against her family on a foreclosure case in Maryland. The Daily Beast pointed out Sebastian Gorka, a right-wing nationalist and former Bretibart editor and Trump administration official, had tweeted: “Why has Blasey Ford’s social media profile been scrubbed?”

It said, elsewhere in the bowels of the internet, QAnon 8chan conspiracy theorists found a Facebook pornbot named Christine Ford and attacked it as though it were Kavanaugh’s accuser herself.

Donald Trump’s words were reasonably measured, though he made clear he believed his nominee’s denial. “This is something that should’ve been brought up long before this … That’s a long time ago and nobody mentioned it until the other day … It’s very unfortunate that they didn’t mention it sooner.”

Two Republican members of the 1991 committee who questioned Hill are still members and will be present on Monday – chairman Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch.

In 1991, Hatch said he believed “Hill was working in tandem with slick lawyers and interest groups bent on destroying Thomas’s chances to join the court”. This week, he told CNN he had spoken to Kavanaugh, that he believed his denials and assumed Ford must be “mistaken”.

Some worry that Ford – who has said she did not talk about the alleged 1982 incident for years and did not want to speak publicly as she feared the backlash already under way – is going to be similarly badly treated.

In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Show all 21 1 /21 In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A member of Code Pink protests as US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh arrives on the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing epa06996310 Circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh prepares to testify before his Senate confirmation hearing to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 04 September 2018. President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would give conservatives a five-member majority in the high court. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS MICHAEL REYNOLDS EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Protesters dressed in The Handmaid's Tale costume, protest outside the hearing room where Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protester is removed during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A woman stands and voices her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Jacquelyn Martin AP In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh arrives for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Protesters disrupt the start of the Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Mark Wilson Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protestor is carried out by security as US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attends the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A woman stands and voices her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Jacquelyn Martin AP In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protestor is escorted out of the room as US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attends the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh points to his daughters as his wife Ashley looks on before the start of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie CHRIS WATTIE REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A woman protests as US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh arrives on the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing U.S. Capitol police officer lead detained protesters out of the start of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts JOSHUA ROBERTS REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protester is removed during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protester is removed during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts JOSHUA ROBERTS REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing A protester is removed during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing epa06996576 A protester is removed as circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh appears before his Senate confirmation hearing to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 04 September 2018. President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would give conservatives a five-member majority in the high court. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO JIM LO SCALZO EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing epa06996814 Protesters inside the Hart Senate Office building under arrest as Brett Kavanaugh appears before his Senate confirmation hearing to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 04 September 2018. President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would give conservatives a five-member majority in the high court. EPA/TASOS KATOPODIS TASOS KATOPODIS EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing US Capitol Police arrest a protestor during the US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. Some two dozen witnesses are lined up to argue for and against confirming Kavanaugh, who could swing the nine-member high court decidedly in conservatives' favor for years to come. Democrats have mobilized heavily to prevent his approval. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images SAUL LOEB AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing US Capitol Police arrest a protestor during the US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 4, 2018. - President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images SAUL LOEB AFP/Getty Images

“I am stunned that this is happening again,” Barbara Boxer, a former Democratic senator from California who, as a representative in 1991, marched across Capitol Hill to demand their own party give Hill a fair hearing, told the New York Times. “But it is not surprising because our culture has not completely dealt with inequality between men and women.”

One person with insights about how things might be different is Hill herself, who continued to be attacked years after her testimony and was even the subject of a 1993 book, The Real Anita Hill, by Republican-turned Democrat David Brock, who claimed to reveal her true motives for testifying. He has subsequently admitted the book was a piece of “character assassination” and apologised.

Writing in the Times on Tuesday, Hill, now aged 62 and a professor of social policy, law, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, said there was “no way to redo 1991, but there are ways to do better”.

“With the current heightened awareness of sexual violence comes heightened accountability for our representatives. To do better, the 2018 senate judiciary committee must demonstrate a clear understanding that sexual violence is a social reality to which elected representatives must respond. A fair, neutral and well thought out course is the only way to approach Dr Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh’s upcoming testimony,” she wrote.

Clarence Thomas continues to deny the accusations against him (Getty)

She added: “Finally, refer to Christine Blasey Ford by her name. She was once anonymous, but no longer is. Dr Blasey is not simply “Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser”. Dr Blasey is a human being with a life of her own. She deserves the respect of being addressed and treated as a whole person.”

Trump is desperate for his nominee to succeed and be confirmed before November’s midterms, so he can deliver another gift to evangelical Christians and conservatives who may not otherwise support him. He apparently believes the 11th-hour testimony from Ford is a Democratic-hatched plot to derail his man. His candidate spent nine hours at the White House on Monday, meeting with lawyers and strategists to plan their approach. One key element will be testimony from women who worked for him; already a letter signed by 65 women who said they had worked with the judge and supported his candidacy, has been circulated by his supporters.

Two other things are worth pointing out. Clarence Thomas was a hugely popular candidate. A poll taken after his 1991 nomination by George HW Bush suggested 52 per cent of Americans supported his confirmation, with 17 against. Kavanaugh, by contrast, is an unpopular choice; a poll taken in July by Fox News suggested only 38 per cent of voters supported him.

And as the website FiveThirtyEight pointed out, three decades later, and after revelations of sexual abuse about everyone from Harvey Weinstein (which he denies) to celebrity chefs, people’s attitudes about sexual harassment have markedly shifted.

One 1986 Time poll found only 17 per cent of Americans believed sexual harassment was a “big problem” for women in the workplace. A 2018 poll by ABC News/Washington Post, suggested 72 per cent of Americans said sexual harassment was a serious problem for women in the workplace.

While Hill’s story was not believed and Thomas was confirmed, the following year saw a backlash against what transpired and the way she was treated. In 1992 – the so-called Year of Women – more women were elected to Congress than ever before.

Analysts believe 2018 is going to break the record again, with as many as 100 congresswomen entering the House of Representatives. The midterm elections are just 50 days away.