Story highlights Three of the at least 17 women who have accused Bill Cosby speak to CNN

Barbara Bowman says she hoped to encourage others when she spoke out weeks ago

Victoria Valentino says "women didn't have a voice" in alleged rape cases

Cosby's camp has consistently, vehemently denied the claims against him

Barbara Bowman never thought this day would come.

The artist says that when she spoke out three weeks ago, in a Washington Post opinion article , she hoped to give voice to other women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by legendary comedian Bill Cosby. She says she wanted them to know they were not alone.

Since then, at least 16 others have gone public with accusations. Many of them offered similar stories about being drugged and raped, and said they were reluctant to talk earlier because they feared for their careers, their families or their own safety.

Three of Cosby's accusers, including Bowman, told CNN on Tuesday of having struggled and gained strength in solidarity.

"One of my main goals was to reach out to these women who didn't have the courage yet," said Bowman. "Seeing it in action is really intense."

Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Bill Cosby is taken away in handcuffs after he received a prison sentence of three to 10 years on Tuesday, September 25. In April, the entertainer had been found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand 14 years ago. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby, shown here in 1969, began his career in New York nightclubs as a standup comedian. His clean-cut style became a career mainstay. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby feeds one of his children in the mid-1960s. Cosby first made his name with his comedic storytelling, often based on his childhood experiences. In 2011, SPIN magazine put "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" at the top of its 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time list. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby won three Emmys for his portrayal of Alexander Scott, an Oxford-educated spy who travels undercover with his tennis-playing partner, Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) in "I Spy," which aired on NBC from 1965 to 1968. Cosby was the first African-American to star in an American dramatic series. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon In 1972, Cosby starred in "The New Bill Cosby Show," a variety program. Among his guests was Ray Charles, whose version of "Night Time Is the Right Time" would play such a standout role on "The Cosby Show" years later. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon In 1972, Cosby helped create "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," a Saturday morning TV series that ran for more than a decade. It later became a 2004 live-action film starring Kenan Thompson as Fat Albert. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Bill – Cosby's biggest TV hit, "The Cosby Show," premiered in 1984. Phylicia Rashad played his wife, Clair Huxtable. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon After "The Cosby Show" was another sitcom, "Cosby," which aired from 1996 to 2000. Cosby played retired airline agent Hilton Lucas. The show also starred T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon President Bill Clinton chats with Cosby and TV correspondent Linda Ellerbee at a 1996 conference on children's television. Cosby, who has a doctorate in education, is a strong believer in using television to send educational messages. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon In 1997, Cosby suffered the loss of his son, Ennis, who was fatally shot on the side of an Los Angeles freeway. Cosby's series' "Little Bill" used the phrase "Hello, friend" -- Ennis' regular greeting -- in tribute to his son. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby shares a laugh with baseball great Hank Aaron after they both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. The medal is America's highest civilian award. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby and comedian Jerry Seinfeld embrace in 2009 at the annual awarding of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Cosby declined the prize twice before accepting. His mother read Twain to him as a child -- a huge influence on his storytelling. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby accepts the Marian Anderson Award in 2010 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby speaks at the 20th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton's organization, the National Action Network, in 2011. In recent years, Cosby has been outspoken on the subjects of poverty, family and responsibility in the black community. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby speaks in 2012 during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows supporting the Motion Picture & Television Fund and the American Comedy Fund. The comedian is active in several charitable causes. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Cosby performs at the Buell Theater in Denver in 2015. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon Andrew Wyatt, a Cosby spokesman, raises his fist as Cosby exits a courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in June 2017. Cosby was facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault from a 2004 case involving Andrea Constand, an employee at his alma mater, Temple University. But it ended in a mistrial after a jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision. Constand was the first of more than 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. Cosby has denied wrongdoing. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Bill Cosby: Evolution of an icon The jury in Cosby's retrial found the TV icon guilty on all three counts in April. Hide Caption 18 of 18

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While Cosby has not commented on the allegations, his camp has repeatedly and vigorously denied them.

In a recent statement, Cosby's lawyer Martin D. Singer said it defies common sense that "so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years."

Victoria Valentino was a Playboy bunny when, she claims, Cosby drugged and raped her in the late 1960s. She called such denials "absolutely ridiculous," adding, "he's got a very good spin doctor."

Asked why it took her and others so long to come forward, Valentino said that "over the years, women didn't have a voice."

"Rape victims, sexual assault victims were victimized by the system," she told CNN's 'New Day.'"... We didn't believe in the system, because the system did not stand by us through things like this."

Comedian draws attention to Cosby accusations

In the pantheon of America's greatest comedians, they don't get much bigger than Bill Cosby.

He broke though in the 1960s on the stand-up circuit with his reflections on everything growing up in Philadelphia to family life with his children and wife Camille. Cosby. His comedy albums became bestsellers and award-winners; he spearheaded numerous shows, from children's programming like "Fat Albert" and Nick Jr.'s current "Little Bill" to his groundbreaking sitcom, "The Cosby Show."

Cosby also became a well-known and respected voice on a host of hot-button issues.

"Bill Cosby is a gifted comedian who has used the power of laughter to heal wounds and to build bridges," then-President George W. Bush said in awarding Cosby a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. "... By focusing on our common humanity, Bill Cosby is helping to create a truly united America."

Yet Cosby's reputation has come crashing down in a few short weeks.

It began in late October, when comedian Hannibal Buress bluntly attacked what he perceived as Cosby's "smuggest old black man public persona" and called him a "rapist."

Bowman said Tuesday that it "felt like a slap in the face" that it took a comedian's comments on stage "for people to perk up their ears and think, 'Oh, maybe there is something to this,' when it's such a serious situation."

By that point, years had passed since Temple University staffer Andrea Constand had sued Cosby alleging she had been drugged and sexually violated in 2004 and that 13 other "Janes Does" had similar stories. Bowman wrote in the Washington Post that she was one of those women, but she never got the chance to testify because the lawsuit was settled. Had she gotten the chance, Bowman would have recalled her life as an aspiring model and actress in her late teens back in the mid-1980s, back when Cosby starred in his eponymous No. 1 TV show as a doting, wisecracking dad.

That was when, she claims, Cosby drugged and raped her, then told her, "'I had better never, ever see your face or hear you name again.'"

After Buress' remarks she decided to put herself out there.

"It was really, really scary. I really felt like I was out in the wilderness, all by myself," Bowman told CNN. "And one of the things that I kept saying over and over again was, 'If I could help one woman, just one, then I've done my job ... But I had no idea how powerful it was really going to be for these women and other women who are still off the record."

'I thought I was the only one'

Valentino said she had thought of coming forward before herself, but stopped because "I couldn't relive it, I couldn't do it."

But "it was a whole different ballgame" after Bowman took that first step, Valentino said. In the age of the Internet, she said, accusations couldn't easily "be swept away into the shadows any more."

Also on the CNN set Tuesday was Jewel Allison.

"For years, I thought that I was the only one," said Allison, who claims Cosby sexually assaulted her in the late 1980s, when she was a model and aspiring actress. "I kept this as a secret ... afraid no one is going to believe you, afraid society is going to victimize you."

Allison said that, because she's African-American, she was especially reluctant to speak out, as Cosby has long been revered in that community. About a decade ago, Allison said, a friend alleged to her that Cosby had done something similar to her, but Allison urged her "to keep quiet."

"And I feel guilty, I feel horrible," Allison said. "You're raised to, 'Shhh, don't talk.'"

Now is different, though. Meeting face-to-face with Bowman and Valentino is part of her "healing process," she said.

"It wasn't about him, it was about what was best for me," added Allison. "...When you tell the truth, it really does set you free. I never understood what that meant until now."