It comes while New York's powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, 63, is under huge pressure to resign after sexual harassment allegations made by several women. He has lost the support of the state's two Democratic senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Investigations are under way.
Cuomo said: "I have not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period".
He also threw shade at his accusers: "I won't speculate about people's possible motives. But I can tell you as a former attorney-general who has gone through this situation many times, there are often many motivations for making an allegation. And that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision."
The Australian Government has been under pressure as well.
In February a parliamentary staffer made a claim that she was raped by a colleague. Then news surfaced of an unrelated claim concerning the top representative of the law in Cabinet.
Attorney-General Christian Porter, 50, has rejected an allegation of rape dating back decades.
Porter's accuser killed herself last year after she told police and then withdrew her complaint. Although the claim goes back a long time, it can take victims years to deal with traumatic events and come forward. As an adult the accuser was challenging a minister and former prosecutor.
Porter denies the claim and has been backed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Police said there was insufficient admissible evidence to proceed with a criminal investigation.
There have been calls for an inquiry but Porter said that would require him to "disprove something that didn't happen 33 years ago".
The person he appeared sorriest for was himself.
"I'm going to take a couple of short weeks leave just for my own sanity. I think that I will be able to return from that and do my job."
Porter justified staying in his job with: "If I stand down from my position as attorney-general because of an allegation about something that simply did not happen, then any person in Australia can lose their career, their job, their life's work based on nothing more than an accusation that appears in print".
Couzens is due to reappear in court on Tuesday night NZT.
The legal process and investigations mentioned need to be worked through.
But, on the face of it, these unproven claims feature power imbalances and people with authority.
A police officer, an attorney-general, and a governor should, in various ways, aim to be protectors for women against predators.
They are jobs that suggest trust and respectability. Serious accusations undermine trust.
And violence and harassment against women are all-too-common.
Men, generally, need to be supportive allies, prepared to stand up and be counted. The crowd at Clapham Common included dozens of men trying to do just that.
