Beneath the wave of sexual misconduct allegations in recent weeks against male lawmakers and candidates lies a common theme: These offenses had been going on for decades, but were either unacknowledged or dealt with quietly.

Now, veils of silence in legislative chambers are lifting as public disavowals and calls for resignations pour in against the accused, even from fellow party members.

Roiling the political world in the last week was a report in The Washington Post that four women had accused Roy S. Moore, the Republican nominee for a United States Senate seat in Alabama, of sexual or romantic advances when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers, one of them 14.

While many Republican officials in Alabama have come to Mr. Moore’s defense, a chorus of others — including the president, vice president and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader — immediately called on the candidate to step aside if the allegations were true. The Senate campaign arm of the party cut its fund-raising agreement with him, and two Republican senators have rescinded their endorsements.