2014′s Sexual Assault Reckoning: Cosby, Ghomeshi & America's Exhausting Holding Pattern

2014′s Sexual Assault Reckoning
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white and digitally retouched) A general view is seen of the clean-up of Bill Cosby's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was defaced with the word 'rapist' on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Approximately 20 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault. (Photo by Chris Weeks/Getty Images,)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white and digitally retouched) A general view is seen of the clean-up of Bill Cosby's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was defaced with the word 'rapist' on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Approximately 20 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault. (Photo by Chris Weeks/Getty Images,)

Are there things we can say this year about sexual violence that couldn’t have been said before? There have been new victims, of course. New stories of violation in the news or whispered about in anxious secrecy. More people showed us the kinds of gymnastics we will perform in an attempt to deny the prevalence of rape and the punishing way our culture treats survivors. More women were brave, endured the public’s vitriol and disdain in order to tell their stories, support others and hold our systems to account.

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