#MeToo founder Tarana Burke on Biden sexual misconduct allegations
The activist shares via tweet, 'Survivors deserve more than being used as a political football'
The sexual abuse accusation of former Joe Biden staffer, Tara Reade continues to cause difficult conversations. #MeToo founder, Tarana Burke recently broke her silence on the issue in a lengthy Twitter thread.
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Former Joe Biden staffer, Tara Reade, continues to cause difficult conversations regarding her sexual abuse accusation against the presidential hopeful. #MeToo founder, Tarana Burke, recently broke her silence on the issue in a lengthy Twitter thread.
Burke stated that she had taken time away from work to “be present where I was needed as my family was affected with COVID.”
READ MORE: Stacey Abrams on sexual assault allegations: ‘I believe Joe Biden’
Burke went on to state that while she understands that people have been waiting on her “take” on the story, there are “no easy answers.”
The 14-part thread went on to say that her “stance has never wavered: survivors have a right to speak their truth and to be given the space to heal.”
I took a moment away from work and movement-related issues to be present where I was needed as my family was affected with COVID. But, I know many of you are wondering about my “take” on the Tara Reade story.
1/14— Tarana (@TaranaBurke) April 28, 2020
Burke continued that “the inconvenient truth is that this story is impacting us differently because it hits at the heart of one of the most important elections of our lifetime.” She continues, “There are no perfect survivors. And no one, especially a presidential candidate, is beyond reproach. So where does that leave us?”
Burke further explains that in a “just world, we’d have a transformative approach to dealing with claims of sexual violence where a survivor’s story is given fair consideration and they are made whole by a process that supports both accountability and healing. This is doubly important when outsized power dynamics are involved. But, we don’t have that right now.”
Burke, who advocates for survivors, then chastised people who are exploiting Reade’s story, “Many of you are only interested in this story because you are entertained by the trauma of others or because it has the potential to be politically expedient — with no real regard for the survivor.”
She continued to explain that “the defense of Joe Biden shouldn’t rest on whether or not he’s a ‘good guy’ or ‘our only hope,’” she wrote. “Instead, he could demonstrate what it looks like to be both accountable and electable.”
READ MORE: Tarana Burke reveals fiancé tested positive for coronavirus
The activist concluded by saying that “survivors deserve more than being used as a political football by disinterested parties,” Burke wrote. “And a culture of acknowledging harm can’t exist if we continue to view sexual violence as a catastrophic outlier rather than an embedded toxic element of our culture.”
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