Global solidarity with “Jane Doe” after gang rape lawsuit

People all over the world are showing solidarity with the American student known as “Jane Doe”. She had filed a lawsuit against the elite Cornell University and seven members of a fraternity for gang rape.

The supporters also call themselves "Jane Doe" in their contributions - a common pseudonym in English for anonymous people.

Years after the #MeToo movement

Many people who are currently adopting the name report their own experiences with sexual violence. The dynamic is reminiscent of the “#MeToo” movement, in which women in particular have shared their stories of assault since 2017 in the wake of a highly publicized Hollywood scandal.

Supporters of "Jane Doe" also want to offer the plaintiff protection in the digital age if the woman's real name is published online. They hope a flood of "I am Jane Doe" posts on social media will confuse the algorithms and AI models.

Threats against “Jane Doe”

The incident happened two years ago now. The then 20-year-old came to the student union building drunk. According to her own statements, she was then given the anesthetic ketamine. Several members of the student association then raped her in a defenseless state.

Three weeks later, the young woman contacted the police on campus, but there were no legal consequences.

The plaintiff accuses the university of inaction. She has now left the university. The student association was banned. Now the case is being investigated again. According to her lawyer Thomas Giuffra, "Jane Doe" received numerous threats, as Der Spiegel reported. She is being pressured to withdraw the lawsuit.

According to an internal survey at Cornell University, 35 percent of female undergraduate students say they have experienced sexual assault.

More pseudonyms in court proceedings

The use of pseudonyms in legal proceedings has increased in recent decades, said Diana Simon, a law professor at the University of Arizona. While the legal system is designed to be transparent, there may be situations that are extremely private or sensitive "where it is in the best interest of the person concerned to remain anonymous."

However, this does not prevent a person's true identity from sometimes coming to light, especially when people specifically search for it.