Roger Ailes. Bill Cosby. Harvey Weinstein. It took a near avalanche of stories, accusations, audio recordings and emotional scars to bring these men’s wrongdoings into the light.

But why?

Numerous victims stepped forward with allegations years before the recent mainstream media tailspins. These victims reported what happened to them, despite fear of retribution and other consequences. Yet far too many of their stories fell onto deaf ears.

Take Weinstein accuser Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a Filipina-Italian model, who recounted to Ronan Farrow in a New Yorker report on Weinstein an event that happened in the film executive’s office in 2015.