12 April 2022: Cuomo Sexual Harassment Victims Upset Disgraced NY Governor Escaped Accountability

‘It must be really sad to be him’: Women who spoke out against Cuomo rebuild as he attempts revival

This report appeared in Politico on 11 April 2022. Here's an excerpt to capture the basic story:

Commisso and Charlotte Bennett, another former aide who accused Cuomo of misconduct, spoke to POLITICO in a series of phone interviews in recent weeks — offering their first substantial public comments about their lives since Cuomo left office. Bennett and Commisso are now reimagining their shattered personal and professional lives, as Cuomo attempts to put back together the pieces of his old identity.

They say they’re not scared of him or his network of supporters any more, and that they’ve learned to tune out frenzied speculation about his future. But they say they’re disappointed that many in state politics — even those who affirmed their allegations and pushed for Cuomo’s resignation — have not dismissed the entire notion he could run again.

“I understand he resigned, but that’s not the point,” Commisso said. “The point is, resignation doesn’t bring accountability. It was his choice. If you or I walked up to someone, grabbed them, touched them inappropriately, we would hopefully be held accountable.”

Much of the rest of the article recaps their experiences in advancing their allegation against Cuomo while he held power in New York as the state's governor.

But the article also covers Cuomo's recent activities, where the following passage caught our attention:

Cuomo is using that money to help shape the collective conversation about his downfall — to even question whether reports of his behavior were serious enough to cause a downfall.

That’s a problem, said Jennifer Freyd, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon. Freyd, who founded a nonprofit focused on institutional courage and betrayal, coined the term DARVO, which refers a reaction shown often by individuals accused of wrong doing, particularly sexual offenders. DARVO stands for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender” and is what Cuomo — who regularly painted himself an advocate for women and founded the Women’s Equality Party in 2014 — has been doing on a public stage for nearly a year now.

“Every time somebody DARVOs when they’ve got that kind of public platform, it’s not just the individuals involved who get hurt,” she said. “It’s also everybody else who might get scared off from seeking help or telling the truth about what happened to them because they’ve just seen what’s going to happen, which is really bad.”

We were surprised to learn there's an acronym psychologists use to describe how other offenders have behaved after their misconduct was exposed, which fits Andrew M. Cuomo's public conduct since the multiple allegations levied against him began gaining traction in early 2021.

The report doesn't indicate if either Commisso or Bennett might file civil lawsuits against Cuomo.