Recent allegations of sexual assault have placed a dark cloud over the entertainment industry.

They began with accusations of sexual assault and harassment against film producer Harvey Weinstein, and there has been a ripple effect since, with other women in the industry coming out with their stories of being violated.

Still, sexual harassment, assault, violation and rape against women is not exclusive to Hollywood.

“I was raped two and a half years ago by a powerful and wealthy man, and he got off because police said there was not enough evidence,” Pleasantville resident Pepper Oceanna Lewis said. “I realized that power, influence and money seem to cause our society and systems to fail the most vulnerable.”

Lewis is the founding member of Westchester Women Survivors of Sexual Assault or Harassment, a Meetup group still in its developing stages aimed to support women who have been sexually harassed and assaulted during their lifetime.

“I created [the group] to have three facets to it,” Lewis said. “The first is to hold weekly meetings for support where women can share their stories and heal their pain. Then, to create activities and events that anyone can host and also to create a board of leaders who want to support in working with elected officials to influence laws to better support women.”

In Lewis’ and other women’s cases, the perpetrators of these violations were men in power.

“I have noticed through my own personal observations and experiences [that] men without elite statuses get convicted for rapes faster than those who do have those statuses,” Lewis said. “Nobody wants to believe that upper class men in our society can behave like sexist, abusive monsters.”

“I think that sexual assault and sexual harassment is about gender and power,” said Rachel Simon, the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs at Pace University. “Someone doesn’t commit sexual assault because they want to get laid, they commit sexual assault because they want to overt their power over somebody, and that’s a particularly a violent and egregious way to do it. Men in power are perpetrators in violence in part because they are able to commit these acts over and over with little to no consequence.”

However, Simon, who works closely with the Title IX Office and was on Pace’s committee when it revised its sexual assault guidelines three years ago, says it would be inaccurate to assume that the only men committing sexual assault are ones in power.

“People of every income, socioeconomic status and career status can commit sexual assault or harassment,” she said. “I’ve heard many stories of managers at fast food restaurants doing similar things that Harvey Weinstein did.”

There is a difference between Hollywood and the “average” American town, which begs the question: Is there too much of a disconnect between Hollywood and Pleasantville for local women to feel compelled to talk about their own experiences now?

“I think that it is powerful to hear the stories of people, even from people who are very different from you,” Simon said.

“I think that the bravery of people who do talk about being survivors of assault or another victimization can be powerful,” Simon said. “It’s not perfect though, and it’s not going to change the situation of somebody who is working for somebody who is a predator if they can’t quit that job for financial reasons, but I think it could still be positive.”

Lewis says she is proud of the women in Hollywood coming out and standing up for themselves, and she believes women not affiliated with Hollywood can gain courage to come forward with their own stories.

However, Lewis says she does see a disconnect between the privileges of Hollywood women and other women.

“The thing with these women who are now coming forward in Hollywood, is that they already have so much support in doing so,” Lewis said. “They have each other. They also have easy access to the media, which allows them to get so much public support, aside from all of the personal support they already have within Hollywood.”

“When I was raped, I pressed charges and even sued when the police dropped the charges,” Lewis said. “I received no public support. Most women who are harassed or raped do not have a platform to use their voice. That is where the disconnect is. I will be honest, while I am proud of these women and men in Hollywood for coming forward, I am also in a way, jealous of them for the fact that their platform immediately gives them the opportunity to use their voices and gives them support that I don’t feel like I had.”

Lewis says she is not assured there are enough support groups for Pleasantville women who are survivors of sexual assault.

“I don’t know [if there are enough support groups] and that is one of the reasons that I created the Meetup group to support women who have sexually harassed and assaulted,” she said. “If we come together and support one another, we don’t have to do it alone, and we can stand up together too and influence change.”

Simon says if a Pleasantville resident is looking to come forward about being sexually violated, she recommends contacting the Victim Assistance Services, a crime victim service in Westchester County that has a 24-hour helpline.

“I think if somebody got sexually assaulted in Pleasantville and got in touch with Victim Assistance Services, they would be well advocated for.”