You may know one of America’s sweetheart, Bill Cosby, from some of your favorite shows, such as little bill or the Cosby show. He may appear to be a loving father and husband when the Cosby show is airing, but once the endearing lines disappear and the camera crew leaves, bending the scenes are much different. It is scary and unbelievable to see someone so loving on screen do such terrible, unforgivable things off screen. Due to his switching personalities, it can be easy to make the decision that women, such as Andrea Constand is the one who is lying. I am here to explain why Andrea is the victim and how Bill Cosby got to the point of prison.

The two met in 2002. Andrea was 29 year old and the director of operations at Temple University’s women’s basketball team. Cosby met her at events and immediately found romantic interests in her. When she said no to these offers he attempted to forge a friendship between them. For the next 14 months, Cosby, who was 35 years old, continued the friendship by “inviting her to my house, talking to her about personal situations dealing with her life, growth, education, access and thoughts to how to acquire a more aggressive attitude, protecting oneself in business,” he said in his deposition. Things took a turn for the worst, when she was invited to his house on an unforgettable January night in 2004. She entered his home and he gave her some Benadryl to help her relax. She took the medicine that she thought was coming from a friend for her pain from basketball. She woke up the next morning knowing that what took part last night she will never forget and will alter her as a woman for the rest of her life. She claimed that he raped her that evening and Cosby declined the allegations, saying that it was “consensual”. The Benadryl he gave her was in such a high amount that she was conscious for some of what occurred, but could not move or speak. She remember him touching her and forcefully putting parts of himself on her and eventually in her. Another reason Constand was horrified was due to the fact that she is lesbian and was currently dating a woman who she was committed to. She was not bi-sexual and knew that she would never be bi-sexual. 

According to her mother, for the next years she struggled with nightmares. She would wake up screaming and sweating from nightmares pertaining to her rape from a man who claimed that it was consensual. The mom said that “There was a change in her daughter’s personality and she’d isolated herself from her friends,” according to the affidavit. “Mrs. Constand attempted to find out from her daughter what was wrong with her but the victim simply did not answer.” She was ashamed of what happened and understood Cosby’s major fame. She feared that no one would believe her and she was still having trouble coming to terms and believing what happened herself. 

Finally, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005, Andrea told her mother. “I just called my mom and said, ‘I need to tell you about something that happened to me,’ ” Andrea told the detectives. “I said something happened a while back. I said it involved Mr. Cosby.” “I said, ‘One night around this time last year I was invited to Mr. Cosby’s house and he gave me pills and he sexually violated me without me consenting,’ ” she said. Her mom was the first person she ever told her terrifying story too. The mom was enraged and knew action must take place. 

The mom called Cosby. When she couldn’t reach him, she left a message on his voicemail. She and her daughter then contacted the police in Ontario, Canada, where they lived.

Three days later, Cosby called Gianna back and they spoke for two hours.

“She said, ‘I want to know the truth, what you did to my daughter,’ ” Cosby said, according to his deposition. “She said three times, ‘This is a mother’s nightmare.’ … She said, ‘I don’t know how long it’s going to take Andrea to heal and I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to heal.’ “

Cosby apologized and said, “What can I do?” according to his Jan. 26, 2005 statement to police. “She said, ‘Nothing.’ She said, ‘Your apology is enough.’ ”

Cosby promised to send Gianna a copy of the prescription for what he gave to Andrea, but he never did. Afterward, he and his representatives offered Andrea money for graduate school.

Enraged by this thought that he can buy his way through a violation of privacy, Andrea filed a civil lawsuit against Cosby. Thirteen women came forward saying he’d done the same thing to them. Several of the women made their allegations public. It only takes one brave women to inspire others to fight for their human rights and to voice a serious matter. Sexual assault is global and never okay or excusable, therefore this was a topic that needed to be talked about. The accusers of Cosby spoke outside of the court speaking about the trending hashtags #meetoo. This hashtag represents believing women who make these allegations. The women’s attorney said “how many woman does it take for the world to believe one of the women vs. a rich, powerful man.” 

Sadly, in February 2005, then Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. decided not to bring criminal charges against Cosby, citing “insufficient credible and admissible evidence.”

Later, when Cosby was 81, has repeatedly denied those accusations, which are among claims made by more than 60 women. Finally, on September 25th, 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison.

Although Cosby is finally in prison, concerns still remain. One of the major questions is why it took years for Cosby to be sent after evidence and after 60 women came forward. The next concern is to why his prison time is only three to ten years after ruining all the lives of over 60 women. It makes people question the justice system and makes victims of sexual assault more hesitant to come forward if they see that even after 60 women came forward, Cosby received an unfit punishment. It is hard enough for one women to come forward knowing that if their rapist does go to jail he might still get out early with anger. It is a common question as to why women wait a substantial amount of time before convicting their rapist and coming forward. Something to keep in mind is the fact that some women do not want to admit what happened. They have a hard enough time coming to terms with what happened to themselves and would have an even harder time discussing in depth their attack publicly in court. It takes time to find peace within yourself and to not lose yourself in anger of the rapist and what that rapist did to the victim. Just because time has passed, I encourage women and men everywhere to come forward if they have been sexually assaulted. It is true that it is easier to convict a person with evidence if you come forward right away, but it is never to late for people to hear the truth. The pattern is always a powerful man or women takes advantage of someone innocent and less powerful because they think they will get away with it. They assume that their dominance is too overpowering to the point where the person would never come forward. And if they decide to come froward no one would believe them because they are not as powerful. This treacherous cycle needs to end. The fears still remain that if a woman comes froward that people will think they are lying or the rapist will not be arrested and then continue to attack them in even worse conditions as before. The fear also remains that no women wants to tell their personal story and have people mock her and tell her that the most painful moments of her life are not true or that the attack was consensual and she is doing it for fame or more power. No one can even comprehend how difficult it would feel to have someone publicly say that it was consensual when all you have been doing all these years is think about the forceful actions that person put you in. Although all these concerns are valid, it remains true that every person needs to speak their truth. In every aspect of life, there will always be some people who disagree with you and think you are lying, but at the same time, there will always be even more people who believe you, your story, and will fight along side with you. Also the story you are telling is for your peace of mine and justice. The story is not told for others to believe you because you and the attacker know the truth. The story is told for possible future victims. If an attacker is not punished and does not show any remorse then he or she will attack again. It is necessary to save those future victims by the person coming forward and no longer being a victim. When weighing out the pros and cons the pros always outweigh the cons. Regardless of what happens in court, if a person is convicted of assault their powerful reputation will always be tarnished and there will always be a majority of people who think that he or she is to blame and was forceful to the victim. The perfect example of what to do was Andrea. She had an amazing career doing something that she loved. She was lured in my Cosby over the coarse of many years on a friendship basis and one day he took advantage of her when she was weak and had her guards down because Cosby did such an amazing job of pretending to be someone she could let her guard down around. Someone who tricks their victim and finds pleasure in planning their attack over years is someone who must be punished to justify their actions and for their own benefit of realizing that what they did is inexcusable, therefore they need help before being sent back into society with free will. After Andrea was attacked, she wanted to come forward and started by eventually telling her Mom. Critics of course said that she was a liar, wanted to become famous by using Cosby’s name, and that it was consensual. She came forward as being lesbian and some even when to the extent to say that her being gay was a coverup for her affair with Cosby.  This must have been devastating for her. To hear people questioning her motives when they should be questioning a terrible man. Instead, she did not take no for an answer as an answer and she reached out to every women to come forward who Cosby attacked. Once people saw how strong Andrea was they found power in themselves to come forward and tell their haunting tale. All it took was one powerful women who found for her own life and truth. Some people need a leader to inspire the leader in themselves. I encourage everyone to be that person to allow others to tell their own truth. The truth should always be told for justice, the rapist can receive help, for future victims, years wasted feeling powerless because someone forcefully made a decision that they do not think twice about, but you think about every second of the day, and most importantly for yourself. For your own peace of mind and for your own truth.