I am hoping by now, you have seen the outpouring of information surrounding Bill Cosby and the rape allegations he is facing. With a new take on the story every day, here is a list of need- to- know details.

"BillCosby" by United States Navy photo by Mr. Scott King - Cropped from [1] from [2]. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BillCosby.jpg#mediaviewer/File:BillCosby.jpg
“BillCosby” by United States Navy photo by Mr. Scott King – Cropped from [1] from [2]. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BillCosby.jpg#mediaviewer/File:BillCosby.jpg
The first lawsuit came in 2005, by a woman named Andrea Constand. Constand alleged that Cosby dosed her with pills and assaulted her at his residence in Cheltenham, Pa. Cosby’s attorneys countered, saying that Cosby only gave her Benedyrl after she complained of having sleeping problems. During the lawsuit, a dozen of other women came forward who also said they were assaulted by Cosby. Cosby later settled the suit for an undisclosed amount. Nine years later, rallying on the train of sexual assault stories of Woody Allen, Gawker released a piece that brought Constand’s story back to the discussion board,?along with the 13 other women who accused Cosby.

On October 17, 2014; Comedian Hannibal Buress called out Cosby on stage, in a video that quickly went viral:

Enter Barbara Bowman, who was inspired by Buress breaking the silence surrounding Cosby in Hollywood. Bowman decided her story should be heard in full detail. One of the 13 women who were on stand-by to testify against Cosby, Bowman is not a new voice in the matter.

Bowman also has written about her experience in the Washington Post, voicing her concerns about Cosby’s potential new sitcom on NBC, and her work with PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment)?Bowman, and the other women have been met with such hatred for speaking out. Instances of bullying and victim blaming are under any article’s comment section, and even on Twitter.

 


Cosby reached out on Twitter for fans to “meme him”, Twitter responded with memes surrounding the rape allegations.

 

Rush Limbaugh, true to form, came out in defense of Bill Cosby. Limbaugh speculated that this was all a vendetta by news corporations, hell-bent on “destroying Bill Cosby.” Going on to say that, “It’s not like he did it yesterday. It’s age old stuff, right?” Yes, Mr. Limbaugh, because god-forbid we actually listen to a victim tell her story at any point.

Those are the key parts to the story, and it will be interesting to see what Cosby has to say about all of this, if he ever speaks. On this point, however, I will say this: Sexual Abuse/Assault victims have the right to tell their stories. We, and yes I say we because I was a victim of assault and abuse, all approach healing from our attacks in different ways. I am ten years past my abuse/assault, and I am still talking about it because it matters. To victims and to the world, it matters. Victim blaming is a huge problem, one that should be stopped. The majority of sexual assault cases are not reported, due to many factors, but none are reasons to vilify the victim. So, whether Bill Cosby accepts what these women say that he did to them or not, they all should be heard. I stand with Barbara Bowman and Hannibal Buress,. It is time to end the code of silence.

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