It has been a bad few weeks for men in positions of power alleged to have behaved very badly.
The shocking killing of British woman Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home at 10.30pm from a friend's place in south London, is made worse by the fact that a serving Metropolitan police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.
The 33-year-old's body was found a week after she went missing, hidden in a Kent woodland area.
AP reports that the suspect, Constable Wayne Couzens, 48, was in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command - the armed unit which guards embassies and Parliament.
On Sunday, police broke up an attempt by Londoners to pay their respects to the slain marketing executive in the Clapham area after an official vigil was cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions.
A woman is arrested by Metropolitan Police officers at a vigil in memory of Sarah Everard on Clapham Common, London. Photograph by @jackhillphoto pic.twitter.com/qhp8GFibNr
— Alastair Johnstone (@a_lastair) March 13, 2021
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.
šCommissioner Cressida Dick: All my thoughts and prayers are with Sarahās family and her loved ones.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 13, 2021
I do appeal to people to express their sadness and their solidarity and their really strong feelings about womenās safety in other ways.#ReclaimTheseStreets | #SarahEverard pic.twitter.com/nIATT5ysMj
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".
My bit about a thing that happened to me while I was walking along the street yesterday afternoon https://t.co/XwlMtRIJ1w
— Marina Hyde (@MarinaHyde) March 12, 2021
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.