Tamra Wade struggled mightily over whether to go to the police more than a decade ago, when, she says, a trusted professor forced himself on her in an empty classroom. Ultimately she couldn't bring herself to do it.
But if it happened now, she says, she'd be a lot bolder - not just because she's older, but because she feels there's less of a stigma connected to being a victim of sexual assault.
And this, say advocates for sexual assault victims, may be one reason why the allegations against Bill Cosby have exploded into public consciousness now so much more than they did when they emerged a decade ago: an evolving cultural understanding of the crime of sexual assault, and increased empathy toward those claiming to be victims.
"I think our society really has changed," says Wade, a data analyst who now mentors young assault victims. "Ten years ago, it was much harder for a victim to get an audience listening to her. Now there's less of a stigma, and that gives people more confidence to come forward."
A key element in the cultural shift, say some advocates, have been a series of high-profile cases like the Penn State molestation scandal, stories of abuse in the military or the Catholic Church, and cases of date rape at university campuses. Particularly when a number of people come forward, it's harder for the public to ignore, they say.
"People may have an easy time rationalizing away only one victim, but not when there are a number of them," says Scott Berkowitz, president of Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network in Washington, D.C.
In recent weeks, at least seven women have publicly accused the 77-year-old Cosby of sexual assault years ago. Cosby has not been charged in connection with any of the allegations. Only one woman has filed suit - Andrea Constand, who sued in 2005 and settled for an undisclosed amount before the case went to trial.
Cosby's attorney, Martin Singer, has criticized previous "decades-old discredited allegations" and denied some others. He suggested in a Friday statement that Cosby's accusers may have another agenda.
"There has never been a shortage of lawyers willing to represent people with claims against rich, powerful men, so it makes no sense that not one of these new women who just came forward for the first time now ever asserted a legal claim back at the time they allege they had been sexually assaulted."
Berkowitz, of RAINN, recalls when his organization, back in 1994, approached TV networks to air public service announcements for its sex assault hotline; they resisted, he says, fearing the mere word "rape" would lead to complaints. Finally NBC agreed, and there were no complaints, Berkowitz says - in fact, there were thank-yous. Other networks followed suit.
"In the last decade, we've all been developing a greater awareness of just how common these crimes are," says Berkowitz.
Recent media coverage of the widening allegations against Cosby led to what RAINN said was a "significant increase" in calls to its National Sexual Assault Hotline - something that also happened after the Penn State case. But there's been a measurable increase underway for several years, says Jen Marsh, who oversees the hotline, which includes a phone and online version.
"Our online hotline has seen a 25 percent increase every year," says Marsh, vice president of Victims Services at RAINN. "I think it has a lot to do with the dialogue happening around this issue." She, too, cites high-profile cases - like the 2012 rape scandal involving high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio - and the fact that students on college campuses have been more vocal about their experiences. "There is definitely a sea change of sorts with these activists being very open," she says, also citing attention to the issue from Congress and from the White House, which recently launched "It's On Us," a public awareness campaign about campus sexual assault.