"We have identified the serial predators who are rich and powerful. There are thousands more out there. And the people who allow it to happen, particularly in workplaces or places of worship, putting the spotlight on them, that's the next phase of 'Me Too,'" says president of NOW-NYC Sonia Ossorio.
Epstein’s crimes are sweeping and flagrant, but not drastically different from what commercial sexual exploitation looks like every single day in cities across America. Women and girls, mostly of color and poor, are bought and sold in a sex trade that targets and recruits the most vulnerable among us. Men, many rich and powerful, fuel the market for exploitation each time they exchange money for sexual access.
As a campaigning Mayor de Blasio divides his time between city and national concerns, here’s a question that spans both.
Was he serious about investigating Donald Trump for rape? And will he ensure equal treatment for all rape complaints?
Not nearly enough has been done to improve New York City’s response to sexual assault in the one year since the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) issued a blistering report on how the NYPD was failing to make sexual assault response a priority. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s primary response to the report has been to question its accuracy.