Lauren Chapman is a senior journalism news and telecommunications major and writes ‘Miss Know-It-All’ for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Lauren at lechapman@bsu.edu.
Sixteen different women have publicly accused actor and comedian Bill Cosby of sexual violence. The accusations range from sexual coercion to drugging and raping a woman.
These accusations are 30, 40, even 50 years old. Cosby’s attorney released a statement on Friday, calling these accusations “unsubstantiated, fantastical stories.”
But the problems these accusations highlight have very little to do with the 77-year-old comedian. They highlight a problem with the reporting of sexual assault and rape in the United States.
It’s hard for people to imagine Cosby as the man whom 12 women described drugging and raping them. The memories of Dr. Huxtable in rumbled sweaters and the spokesperson for Jell-O eclipse the potential for a man to do terrible things.
We live in a country that believes in “due process.” Cosby is innocent until proven guilty. He is a wealthy and powerful black man who has settled out of court previously on allegations of rape. And since these accusations are from 30 years ago or more, other than the eight states that have no statute of limitations for sexual assault, the time has long passed.
Cosby stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue from the work he was preparing before public opinion started to question him. Without a trial or judge, public opinion has found him suspicious at best and guilty at worst.
The only way to make situations like this stop happening is to create a better environment for survivors of sexual violence to report crime.
These reports of sexual violence are as much as 50 years old. Today, in the United States, reported rapes only have a 25 percent arrest rate, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. But 50 years ago, with allegations against a rich and powerful man, it would have been even harder to make those accusations without a physical witness to back it up.
Rape takes away another person’s power. When you add in the factors of slut-shaming, the indignity of rape kits, and the mental and emotional toil that standing up to a rapist can take, it’s understandable that rape doesn’t get reported.
Pretending rape is a women’s issue only makes it harder for male survivors of sexual violence to speak out against their rapists. And making sweeping generalizations that only men are rapists only serves to make it harder for people to receive justice.
The Justice Department estimates only 46 percent of rapes are reported — and that number is an improvement from previous years.
The majority of rape cases aren’t reported. And that has to change.
As a society, we can no longer victim-blame. Consent needs to be something we learn the first time we engage in sexual activities, and it needs to be a part of the conversation.
Ignoring this problem only serves to make it worse.
I don’t know if Cosby sexually abused these women. The only people who do are Cosby and women who are accusing him.
But if society can create a world that encourages people to report sexual violence, maybe society can create a world where sexual violence no longer exists.
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