THE BIG PICTURE

“35 women tell their stories about being assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the culture that wouldn’t listen”

‘I’m no longer afraid,’ said Chelan Lasha, who came forward late last year to say that Cosby had drugged her when she was 17. ‘I feel more powerful than him.’

In 2005, Bill Cosby still had control of the media. In 2015, we have social media. We can’t be disappeared. It’s online and can never go away. —Tamara Green

Lessons Learned

• Predators groom not only their victims, but also entire communities and the public in order to garner support, empathy, and credibility that will allow them to maintain power over their victims. By becoming more aware and informed, we can choose to empower survivors rather than continuing on the path of empowering offenders.

• Often, we do not want to believe that people we know, love, or idolize are capable of violent acts. However, we must realize that people are complex and three-dimensional; what we see from our vantage point is never all there is to see. People we know, love, or idolize are capable of doing bad, and sometimes horrific, things. We are responsible for allowing for that possibility, being objective, and holding those people accountable for the harm they have caused.

• It is unacceptable that even though more than 40 women told accounts of being sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby, many people only believed them once Cosby’s admission to using drugs to facilitate sex was exposed. We should question why one man’s voice is valued more than 40+ women’s voices, and hold ourselves accountable for attitudes that allowed Cosby to have so much more power than his victims.

 NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Close to Home

• Tammany coroner looks to employ special nurse examiners to focus solely on sexual assault victims

 World View

• He said, she said: The mythical history of the false rape allegation
• In America’s prisons, rape behind bars and under wraps
• Survey: Transgender inmates more likely to be victims of sexual assault