Another woman accuses Biden of encroaching on her personal space

Another woman, however, has come forward to accuse former Vice President Joe Biden of inappropriate physical contact.

Sofie Karasek, a lawyer for victims of sexual assault, wrote an editorial in The Washington Post Thursday, describing the story of a viral photo of herself and Biden after the Oscars of 2016, the "feeling of shame and belittlement" that she began to feel and calling Biden to assume greater responsibility for her overly physical behavior in the past.

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Karasek had just appeared at the Oscars alongside survivors of sexual assault and defenders of their rights, while Lady Gaga was performing a documentary song about the assaults on college campuses. Biden had introduced the group and Karasek then told him the story of a woman who, a few days earlier, had committed suicide after being sexually assaulted.

In response to his story, Karasek wrote: Biden "is leaning over, took my hands and laid his forehead on mine".

"I was stunned." I looked away, hoping that my body language could shorten the interaction.I did not think he was going to kiss, but it was as if I met his eyes, it was not out of the question, either, "she continued," it was unwelcome, uncomfortable, and strange, and at the same time I was happy to pass on this serious message to her, happy that it seemed to echo it. "

Karasek said that after a photo of the interaction became viral, the parents of the woman she spoke to Biden were able to seek justice, which made her made conflictual about his discomfort with the present moment.

At least half a dozen women came forward over the past week accusing Biden of inappropriately and unwelcome touching, provoking a conversation following the #MeToo move to respect the privacy of others.

Biden's penchant for a particularly tactile political style has been well documented throughout his career, but he has appeared in recent weeks in a new light. The accusations of inappropriate contacts threaten to jeopardize the move to send the race to the presidency expected by Biden, with some claiming that the former vice president has not responded adequately.

Biden remained silent, answering women only through spokesperson spokesmen, until Wednesday, when he posted a video on Twitter in which he acknowledged that "social norms were beginning to switch". He has vowed to be "more attentive and more respectful of personal borders". prompt to point out that he never directly excused himself.

In his editorial on Thursday, Karasek explained that Biden's earlier work on behalf of survivors of sexual assault left him with less leeway to assert his ignorance of the issue.

"It is precisely because he has been active in the field for so long that he should have realized much earlier that he could make women uncomfortable and that, given his dominant position, women could to stop expressing those feelings, "she wrote.

She called on Biden to "truly own" her behavior towards women, including the treatment that he gave to Anita Hill at the confirmation hearing. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Biden recently expressed regret over how he handled his charges of misconduct against Thomas in the early 1990s.

"Biden's more recent paternalistic behavior was another form of sexism that he opposed for years," she said, adding, "Joe Biden often calls others to have the courage to tell the truth. I hope that he can find it in himself. "