A horrifying sexual assault at Cornell University has produced a wave of global outrage and anger. It has exposed the sexist culture prevailing at university campuses and the shocking response of authorities that fail to take rape seriously.
A 20-year-old student at Cornell was drugged and raped by seven men over seven hours in 2024 at a university fraternity house.
The woman, known only as Jane Doe, arrived at the Chi Phi fraternity house to meet a friend at about 11pm at night. She was already intoxicated and her lawsuit states she was “incapable of consenting to” sexual activity.
But she was forced to take ketamine, and separated from her phone.
Her abuse was amplified after messages were sent to a fraternity chat group. Doe was repeatedly assaulted until she lost consciousness at 5.45am. In court documents she says “she felt as if there was no way for her to escape this room full of predatory, fraternity men”.
Despite reporting the abuse to campus police who passed on evidence to country police, no criminal charges were ever laid.
The local district attorney says the evidence he received did not meet the legal threshold for charges. Yet Doe’s initial statement said “I can say with 100 per cent confidence I was raped.”
Just two of the seven men were expelled, one graduated, and two more were suspended. The others were made to write essays on the events and attend workshops.
In September this year, Jane Doe sued the university, the fraternity and the seven men. It was only then that New York state’s governor announced that its top prosecutor would reopen an investigation.
An angry demonstration at Cornell has demanded, “Justice for every Jane Doe” and the resignation of university president, Michael Kotlikoff.
The shocking case has exposed deep sexism on campus. Dozens of men knew the assaults were happening but did nothing to stop it. At Cornell 38 per cent of female undergraduates reported experiencing sexual assault in a 2025 survey.
Jane Doe’s abuse is yet another example of how institutions protect abusers and fail to deliver justice for survivors.
At the very top of US society, there is a President convicted of rape and who has bragged about “grabbing women”.
Other examples, like the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and MeToo movement, show how the capitalist system enables and encourages sexual abuse at every level.
