When former Vice President Joe Biden speaks, we listen. His appearance at the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Summit was no exception. In a surprise conversation with Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive and Dr. Jill Biden, Biden shared deeply moving stories about his family, discussed ways women can make positive cultural changes in the years ahead, and yes, looked back on those famous Joe Biden and Barack Obama memes. When the conversation turned to Biden’s role as a Senator during Anita Hill’s 1991 sexual harassment trial, Biden made his most noteworthy statement: He voiced his unwavering support for Hill, and an issued an apology to her.
In the context of changing the culture around sexual harassment, an audience member asked Biden if he would have done anything differently in Anita Hill’s case. His response: “I’m so sorry that she had to go through what she went through,” Biden said. “Think of the courage it took for her to come forward. [S]he got put through hell during [the testimony].” He then added that, “I feel really badly that she didn’t feel like the process worked. But I tell you what, I said something at the time that proved to be right, I said this is going to be the start of a fundamental change in what constitutes harassment in the workplace and people are going to begin to change.”
Biden is a vocal advocate for women’s rights and eliminating sexual harassment; he’s spent much of his time since leaving office speaking about consent on college campuses across the country. And in keeping with his statements on consent, Biden backed up Hill’s 1991 testimony against Justice Clarence Thomas. “I’m confident he did what she asserted,” Biden stated. “I believed in Anita. I voted against Clarence Thomas.”
Aside from affirming Hill’s story, Biden went on to defend women’s right to choose if and when they share their experiences of sexual harassment. “Some argued that I should have made her come and testify. The truth of the matter is you don’t want a witness who’s going to come and testify, and be weak in the testimony, and undercut the testimony,” he said.
Biden used his platform to amplify Hill’s story, and those of all women whose cases of assault and harassment weren’t believed in the process. “Anita Hill was victimized, there is no question in my mind,” he said. “Maybe I could have handled it better from the beginning, but I made her case on the floor and I made her case in the committee.”
