Women who accused Bill Cosby of historic sex offences will finally have their cases heard in court.
Cosby cannot be tried for the assaults in a criminal court because too much time has passed since they occurred. This often means that historic sex offence cases are never heard, but Bill Cosby’s accusers have taken a different route to ensure they get their hearing.
Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and Linda Traitz all came forward with reports of sexual assault by Cosby last year. When they did, Cosby’s representatives called them liars. The women were described by Cosby’s lawyers as “discredited”. Yesterday, the three women filed a defamation suit against Cosby for these accusations.
The suit will mean a court will have to make assess the truth or falsity of the claims in order to make a decision regarding whether the statements were defamatory. This means their cases and evidence will get a full court hearing.
The women will claim in the suit that statements issued by Cosby’s representatives in response to their accusations were intended to expose them to public contempt and ridicule, making them grounds for defamation.
The case was originally filed in December by Green, and the two other women decided to join the complaint yesterday.
“The lawsuit provides an opportunity for women who claim to have been harmed to have their day in court in a forum where the truth can be tried,” said Green’s lawyer Joseph Cammarata.
In total, fifteen women have come forward with accusations of sexual assault against Cosby since November of last year. Despite the growing number, the majority of the public considered the reports to be fabricated.
We have witnessed time and again the public’s impulse to assume that women who accuse male celebrities of sexual assault are lying. When it comes to sexual assault, it seems we are much more comfortable casting these celebrities as victim rather than perpetrator. It seems sometimes that this problem is so insidious that the true guilt or innocence of the accused is never properly assessed, because the guilt of the accuser is presumed instead.
If the accusations against Cosby are true, calling them liars is defamation.Will this lawsuit mean justice will finally be done for these women? And does it pave the way for other women in similar situations to fight back?