Students at Cornell University, in New York, discussed on Friday (2) an online campaign in solidarity with "Jane Doe", an anonymous woman whose allegations of sexual abuse gained repercussions on social media.
Using the phrase "I am Jane Doe," social media users outside of Cornell posted messages of support and shared personal accounts of sexual harassment.
Students said the campaign helped make victims' voices more visible and encouraged others to speak openly about their experiences.
"I think this is a movement that seeks to bring attention to the issues faced by women who have to deal with sexual harassment or assault," said Shay Thomas, 19. "I also feel like this is helping to give other women the courage to talk about their experiences without being attacked or belittled."
Other students said the campaign highlighted stories from women at universities across the United States and raised questions about whether institutions do enough to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she signed an executive order on Thursday (1) appointing the state's attorney general, Letitia James, as special prosecutor in the case of the gang rape of a university student in 2024.
The student filed a civil lawsuit last month, claiming that several members of the Chi Phi college fraternity drugged and abused her at a local bar and her own sorority.
According to the lawsuit, she went to meet a friend at the fraternity's headquarters on October 19, 2024, after having been drinking earlier that night. The friend and other members, all members of the fraternity, gave her alcohol, marijuana and ketamine — an anesthetic that can cause hallucinogenic effects — and raped her after she was incapacitated.
The complaint includes a screenshot of a group conversation in which one of the men rudely encouraged the others to participate in the crime.
The New York Times obtained more than a thousand pages of documents from the university's internal investigation into the episode. According to the newspaper, the documents show that the woman's understanding of what happened changed over time. She told police that it took her some time to fully realize that she had been the victim of a gang rape.
In the files, all the men denied any wrongdoing. Some said the relationship was consensual, while others denied having participated. However, according to the Times, in some comments men expressed discomfort or concern about the situation.
Hochul said Thursday that newly released information raised questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by Tompkins County prosecutors not to pursue the case.
"At every stage, she was abandoned by people and institutions that had the obligation to protect her," said the governor regarding the victim.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten defended his office's decision not to file criminal charges in 2024. In a statement, he said the woman's sworn statement "described her participation in drug use and sexual activity as voluntary, conscious and consensual."
The case raised questions about the initial response from authorities and the university after the woman, aged 20 at the time, reported the incident to the police a few weeks after the alleged incident.
The university management defended the way it handled the case, saying it applied different disciplinary measures to members of the fraternity, including expulsions and sanctions.
According to a survey conducted by the university last year, 35% of female undergraduates say they have experienced harassment involving force or inability to consent since entering Cornell. The index rose 15 percentage points, compared to those recorded in 2021.
The students scheduled a demonstration for Monday (5) to demand additional protection measures for the victims.
Saanya Agarwal, student representative for women's issues at Cornell, said the results of the 2025 survey on sexual violence are unacceptable.
"It's clear that this is a problem on our campus and on campuses across the United States...it's something we will not accept," Agarwal said. "Let's fight."
