‘SG, we are all Jane Doe’: AWARE calls on Singaporeans to stand in solidarity with US student

Singapore's leading women's rights and gender equality advocacy group, AWARE, recently urged Singaporeans to stand in solidarity with "Jane Doe," the Cornell University student who is the subject of a high-profile sexual assault case. Jane Doe alleged she was drugged and assaulted by several fraternity members in October 2024. Her story gained traction after being reported by student journalists, sparking student protests, a New York investigation, and questions about the university's leadership.

In the meantime, many individuals, both women and men, took to social media to share similar experiences, leading to the widespread use of the hashtag #iamjanedoe. This hashtag served both as a display of solidarity with the victim and a protest against doxxing. AWARE joined the call for solidarity on October 8th, stating that even on Singapore's "little red dot," the duty to stand in solidarity with Jane Doe and all similar victims lies upon us.

The group requested that Singaporeans share their post to ensure that perpetrators will not find comfort in the silence of the public. However, the AWARE post received numerous comments from people who blamed Jane Doe for the incident. In response, AWARE shared some of these comments and asked netizens to shift the blame away from survivors and onto perpetrators.

Recently, AWARE shared posts from Singaporeans who heeded the call to stand with Jane Doe, encouraging everyone to keep fighting against sexual misconduct. One such post acknowledged the presence of both good and bad individuals in Singapore, urging everyone to do better and hold each other accountable.