We live in a rape-prone society. The horrific Cornell case reveals what that looks like | Rebecca Solnit
Public outcry to punish the alleged perpetrators in the Cornell case misses the point – the only solution is political, legal and cultural equality of women Sometimes a story is so so appalling, it captures the public’s attention, including the attention of people who don’t focus on the issue otherwise. Such is the case with the alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University. For feminists who…
In October 2024, a student at Cornell University, identified as "Jane Doe," reported a sexual assault to campus police. The incident involved seven men allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting her at a Chi Phi fraternity house while she was intoxicated. Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit in September 2024, alleging that Cornell University, fraternity and sorority organizations, and a local bar failed to protect her.
Lawyers for several of the accused men have denied the allegations and any wrongdoing. Cornell's disciplinary actions led to suspensions and expulsions for some of the young men, and the Chi Phi fraternity remains barred from campus. When Jane Doe initially reported the incident to campus police, the district attorney's office reviewed her account and declined to bring charges, stating that her description did not meet the state's requirements for criminal charges.
Despite this, the district attorney, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, reopened the investigation last month while maintaining his original decision not to pursue charges. Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed the state attorney general, Letitia James, as a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations, citing her loss of faith in Van Houten's handling of the case.
To understand what went wrong in the handling of Jane Doe's allegations, Today, Explained co-host Noel King spoke with Lauren Hersh, a former Brooklyn prosecutor who led the office's sex trafficking unit and CEO of World Without Exploitation. Hersh discussed how authorities handled the case, the limits of New York's consent laws, and what needs to change.
She emphasized the importance of listening to the survivor's desires and pace, as well as the critical role of prosecutors in investigating such cases. Hersh criticized the defense strategy of the district attorney, who has argued that the details in the lawsuit differ from Jane Doe's 2024 statement, suggesting that this approach is an excuse to avoid accountability for the alleged wrongdoing.
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