Cultural changes at play in Cosby allegations

Associated Press

Tamra Wade struggled mightily over whether to go to the police more than a decade ago, when, she says, a trusted professor forced himself on her in an empty classroom. Ultimately, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

But if it happened now, she says, she’d be a lot bolder — not just because she’s older, but because she feels there’s less of a stigma connected to being a victim of sexual assault.

And this, say advocates for sexual-assault victims, may be one reason why the allegations against Bill Cosby have exploded into public consciousness now so much more than they did when they emerged a decade ago: an evolving cultural understanding of the crime of sexual assault, and increased empathy toward those claiming to be victims.

“I think our society really has changed,” says Wade, a data analyst who now mentors young assault victims. “Ten years ago, it was much harder for a victim to get an audience listening to her. Now there’s less of a stigma, and that gives people more confidence to come forward.”

A key element in the cultural shift, say some advocates, has been a series of high-profile cases such as the Penn State molestation scandal, stories of abuse in the military or the Catholic Church, and cases of date rape at university campuses. Particularly when a number of people come forward, it’s harder for the public to ignore, they say.

“People may have an easy time rationalizing away only one victim, but not when there are a number of them,” says Scott Berkowitz, president of Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network in Washington, D.C.

In recent weeks, at least seven women have publicly accused the 77-year-old Cosby of sexual assault years ago. Cosby has not been charged in connection with any of the allegations. Only one woman has filed suit — Andrea Constand, who sued in 2005 and settled for an undisclosed amount before the case went to trial.

Cosby’s attorney, Martin Singer, has discredited some of the allegations and denied others. He suggested in a statement Friday that Cosby’s accusers may have another agenda. “There has never been a shortage of lawyers willing to represent people with claims against rich, powerful men, so it makes no sense that not one of these new women who just came forward for the first time now ever asserted a legal claim back at the time they allege they had been sexually assaulted,” Singer said.

Out of every 100 rapes, only 40 get reported to police, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network says, citing Justice Department figures. Eight of those get prosecuted, and four lead to a felony conviction. The silver lining is that over the past 15 years or so, reporting rates have risen by a third.