Her voice came through radios and television screens, and was live-streamed on social media. Then, the man she was accusing stood up and denied everything, describing the process as a "circus" and a "national disgrace". And this wasn’t happening in a courtroom, but in a public interrogation by a judicial committee as part of what is, in essence, a job interview.

The accused is Judge Brett Kavanaugh, US President Donald Trump’s personal pick for Supreme Court justice. His accuser is Christine Blasey Ford, a respected university professor.

The news surrounding these two figures has been raging for the past couple of weeks; Ford has become something of a figurehead for the #MeToo movement, as women across America and in much of the world have applauded her for speaking out about her experiences.

It’s also, not coincidentally, almost a year since this movement was spawned by a very different group of women speaking out about the actions of a different man. It was October 5, 2017, that the New York Times broke the story of substantial allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Since then, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual assault, harassment or rape.

These allegations have, in the year since, caused a “national reckoning” against sexual harassment and assault in the US and around the world. And, as the movement has grown, powerful men have been falling like dominoes, as women - and men - have been emboldened to speak out about their experiences on the receiving end of sexual assault or harassment.

While the jury - so to speak - is out on the allegations against Kavanaugh, the scenario that played out in Washington on Thursday will inevitably take its place among these stories. Ford’s testimony was raw, and hard to listen to. Kavanaugh’s fierce denial was visceral.

And, most importantly, it is impossible to imagine such a scene playing out 12 months ago, before the #MeToo movement had given women like Ford to courage to speak out. But today, despite the stature of those involved and the forum in which the showdown is taking place, it is finally starting to feel commonplace. The entertainment world has seen a seismic shift in the way it now views and deals with sexual assault allegations; many are suggesting that now, it’s the turn of the legal world.

So much has happened in the past 12 months that once seemed unlikely or impossible. Bill Cosby has been jailed. Kevin Spacey has been all but erased from the movie canon. And as the rolling stone of #MeToo rolls onwards, gaining momentum, it’s easy to imagine a never-ending trajectory.

Unless, that is, men take note, and start paying attention properly to how the past can catch up. In the meantime, there’s still space to marvel at the international reaction to Ford’s jarring testimony, at the image of a woman transported back to her teenage self, in the moment when her life would change forever.