Arrest Warrant Issued for Bill Cosby, Victims of Sexual Assault Org Weighs In

An arrest warrant has been issued for comedian Bill Cosby, a move that may pave the way for his many accusers to have their day in court. Cosby will be charged with aggravated indecent assault in the alleged 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who claims the actor violated her in his Pennsylvania home.

Speaking at a press conference, Montgomery County District Attorney-Elect Kevin Steele alleges that Cosby “made two sexual advances at her that were rejected” adding that “Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills and to drink wine, the effect of which left her unable to [rebuff his advances].”

OUT FRONT spoke with Angela Rose, the executive director of PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment), a national nonprofit that advocates for victims of sexual assault, about the recent charges and what it may mean for victims going forward.

PAVE was instrumental in getting President Obama to address the revocation of Cosby’s Medal of Freedom, awarded in 2002. The medal is one of the three highest awards that a civilian can receive from the US government.

“When the deposition came out in which [Cosby] admitted to procuring drugs to use against women he wanted to have sex with, we launched the national campaign to revoke the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” she tells OUT FRONT. “And we didn’t go on hearsay; we went on admittance from that deposition.”

Though President Obama conceded that there was no precedent available to revoke Cosby’s medal, he did offer a statement.

“If you give a woman or a man for that matter, without his or her knowledge, a drug and then have sex with that person without consent — that’s rape. Any civilized country should have no tolerance for rape.”

Rose adds that there’s a next step. “We were on Capitol Hill meeting with some congressmen to talk about creating some piece of legislation giving the president permission to revoke the medal,” she says of the new campaign. “Symbols matter.”

PAVE reached out to model and longtime Cosby accuser Barbara Bowman, who has alleged for 30 years that she was also drugged and assaulted by the actor, and offered to team up on bringing sexual assault victims’ voices to the mainstream. Bowman is now an ambassador for the organization.

Says Rose, “The Cosby indictment will be a success [for PAVE] in the sense that there are so many survivors that want to see their day in court, but because of the statute of limitations, they aren’t able. [Cosby’s eventual arrest] will be an important thing for survivors of the nation to show that they do have a voice.”

She says, though, that PAVE’s role is much larger than Cosby. “Every single one of us knows someone who’s been impacted by sexual assault,” she says, adding that it’s one of the most prevalent, under-reported crimes in our nation. “One in four girls, and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18.” 

“[Sexual assault] is a very isolating feeling and it’s difficult for people to go through the system,” she says. “One thing we really want people to know is that you don’t have to do it alone.”

Rose says they’ve also launched a national campaign called Consent Is. She reminds that,“Consent is a yes; not the absence of a no.”

If you want to get involved in advocating for sexual assault victims in your community, PAVE urges you to visit ShatteringTheSilence.org and weigh in with the hashtag #ConsentIs on social media.