On Monday the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published a report detailing allegations that in 2013 lawmaker Dan Johnson molested a 17 year old girl in a church basement. By Wednesday evening, he posted an unhinged message to Facebook, denying the sexual assault and decrying “judge and jury fake news.” He then went to a quiet area of Mount Washington, Kentucky called River Bottoms and killed himself – a single gunshot wound to the head.

Dan Johnson is the first high-profile suicide amidst a growing wave of sexual misconduct allegations against famous and powerful men. For feminists and progressives, these accusations – and resignations – are a cathartic tide of accountability after years of unchecked indiscretions. To some conservatives, they represent a “witch hunt atmosphere” from women seeking media attention or money. However, as Leigh Corfman pointed out in an interview with the Today Show, speaking out against former Senate candidate Roy Moore only hurt her financially. She was both slandered by Moore’s campaign and forced to take leave from her job.

For critics, Johnson’s suicide might be an inevitable consequence of the media’s handling of sexual assault scandals. The release from Johnson’s wife implies as much, calling her husband’s death a, “high-tech lynching based on lies and half-truths.” KyCIR’s report took seven months, 1000’s of pages of public records, and over 100 interviews to complete. The report is sound, yet imagining pundits demand an end to media scrutiny of sexual assault allegations in the coming weeks is not difficult. Johnson did not deserve to die. However, some men struggling to deal with public scrutiny and/or their possible guilt may be inevitable. His suicide is not an excuse to stop investigating sexual assault allegations, believing victims, or holding perpetrators accountable, but it is a cue to advocate for better mental health support.

In the message that Johnson posted shortly before his death, he wrote, “PTSD 24/7 16 years is a sickness that will take my life.” Johnson appears to admit that he struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for the 16 years before he killed himself. Suicide risk is significantly higher among people with PTSD who may struggle to cope with both their symptoms and outside stress. Johnson’s death may have been preventable if he had been encouraged to seek mental health services following the public allegations. The result from Johnson’s suicide should not be disparaging victims who report sexual assault or attacking the media for covering such allegations. Rather, the outcome should be advocating for mental health care reform alongside encouraging victims and the accused to seek assistance with coping.

Reducing the stigma against mental illness is key, so that struggling individuals will seek help. Statistically, men are less likely to seek mental health care and more likely to commit suicide. Americans suffer from mental illness at some of the highest rates in the world. However, access to mental health services in the United States is limited – particularly in rural areas – because programs are often underfunded or far away from patients. This can result in long wait times and burdensome travel costs. Insurance companies may also provide inadequate coverage or fail to provide assistance until a certain deductible is met.

Reforming mental health services is of the utmost importance, but it is also ridiculous that the suicide of an accused molester is what might unite political sides on the need for change. The scale of sexual violence in the United States is enormous and so are the ramifications for mental health. According to the RAINN, one in six women and one in 33 men will be the victim of a rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, and 13% women who are raped will also attempt suicide. A 2010 survey of 644 rape crisis centers – which provide vital mental health services to victims – found that 25% of rape crisis centers had a waiting list for crisis services. A further 56% had to reduce staff within the last year of the survey. Increasing funding for centers would help provide necessary mental health services and prevent suicide among victims.

Advocating for Dan Johnson’s right to live should not mean taking away sexual assault victims’ right to be heard and believed. The outrage garnered at Johnson’s death but silence towards the suffering of victims speaks volumes. Expanding mental health services and reducing the stigma of mental illness could have saved Johnson, but it has the potential to save many more survivors.