OPINION
Stories and events are rarely black and white. The idea that you are either for survivors without thought or you are against them as a whole diminishes the reality of what it means to be a survivor. Speaking for myself, I have perspective as both a survivor of sexual assault and domestic abuse but I should not have to qualify why I spoke up for “the enemy to women”. And that in itself is the problem – how many of you have worked with Tom Palmieri, how many of you know Tom and how hard he works to empower women that began with his daughters?
I have spent an entire career lifting and elevating women. I have and will continue to call out bad behavior each and every time I see it happen, whether it is from a man or a woman. There is no room for such behavior any longer, and everyone should know it by now. All of that combined leads to the simple truth: if we want real, lasting change for women in America then we must have a system that engages all people and allows for meaningful, if difficult conversations.
Janice Kovach is the mayor of Clinton and the secretary of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.