Bill Cosby’s Release Could Have A Silencing Effect On Victims, Advocates Say

The news that Bill Cosby has been released from prison has enraged sexual assault victims’ advocates and #MeToo activists.

Dozens of women going back decades accused Bill Cosby of sexual harassment and assault. In 2018, a jury found him guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in Cheltenham, Pa., outside Philadelphia. On Wednesday, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the indecent assault conviction against him on a legal technicality.

Bill Cosby, center, and spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, right, approach members of the media gathered outside the home of the entertainer in Elkins Park, Pa., Wednesday, June 30. Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Cosby’s sex assault conviction. The 83-year-old Cosby had served more than two years at the state prison near Philadelphia and was released.

“It’s really sending shockwaves through our survivor community,” Angela Rose, founder and president of Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, told NPR. In 2018, Rose supported Andrea Constand in the courtroom when Bill Cosby was convicted for sexual assault. “I fear that this is going to really hinder other survivors from coming forward.”

The case against Cosby was seen as a milestone in the #MeToo movement. Attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented a number of alleged sexual assault victims, called the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision “devastating for Bill Cosby’s accusers.”Article continues after sponsor message

… [The court’s decision] did not vindicate Bill Cosby’s conduct and should not be interpreted as a statement or a finding that he did not engage in the acts of which he has been accused.

Attorney Gloria Allred

Some of Allred’s clients testified in criminal cases against Cosby. She wrote that, despite the decision, “this was an important fight for justice, and even though the court overturned the conviction on technical grounds, it did not vindicate Bill Cosby’s conduct and should not be interpreted as a statement or a finding that he did not engage in the acts of which he has been accused.”

For many people, Cosby’s friend and TV co-star Phylicia Rashad put salt on the wound when she tweeted enthusiastic support for the fallen comedian.

Phylicia Rashad tweeted support for Cosby then clarified

“FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, exclaimed.

She later backpedaled, tweeting, “I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth.”

Rashad was recently appointed the dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. For Howard alumnus and New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb, Rashad’s original comment was “astounding.”

“That sets a particular tone for young women … about what kind of reception they’d receive if they brought allegations of sexual assault at the university,” Cobb told NPR.

Another Howard graduate, Soraya McDonald, agrees. McDonald, a culture critic for The Undefeated and contributor to NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, was shocked when she heard that Cosby had been released.

“My first response was really just sort of gutting disappointment once I realized this wasn’t just like a rumor that was floating around on Twitter, but it had actually been confirmed,” she told NPR.

Cosby was released on a legal technicality. In a “non-prosecution agreement,” he was told he would not be prosecuted for criminal charges.