By Emily Panameno
Don’t walk alone. Stay with your friends at all times. Always have your location on. Don’t wear that.
Before girls are old enough to understand the term “sexual assault”, many are already taught how to avoid it. We are taught which streets to avoid, which situations to look out for, and what people to be careful around. We are ultimately taught to carry the responsibility of preventing sexual violence. Yet while girls are raised to anticipate the possibility of harm, conversations on the culture that allows sexual assault to happen are often missing.
The “Cornell 7” case is just one of many examples that surround the large issue of sexual assault culture. The case involves a former Cornell University student, who alleges that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted her at a fraternity house for 7 hours in 2024.
The case Jane Doe’s story brought attention to not only the issues surrounding consent but also how society as a whole responds to sexual violence. Yet, this conversation extends far beyond one university or one case. It instead raised the question, why are girls constantly taught to avoid being sexually assaulted, while society does not give the same attention to teaching about consent and responsibility for actions?
Asking women to wear longer skirts or avoid walking at night does not meliorate the “81% of women in the United States have experienced sexual harassment or assault in their lifetimes,” according to a 2018 survey by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. With sexual harassment and assault affecting so many women, the issue itself reflects a larger societal problem that needs accountability, attention, and change. Unfortunately, women aren’t the only ones who experience sexual violence. In fact, 1 in 7 men experience sexual violence.
Jane Doe’s story inspired many others to stand in solidarity and share their own experiences under the phrase “I am Jane Doe.”
Globally, about 1 in 3 women have ave experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime according to a study posted by the World Health Orgianization (WHO). With nearly 48% of assaults happening before the age of 18 and 80% of those assaults happening before the age of 25.
Despite how many women experience sexual violence, the victims end up blamed. The victims will face questions such as “What were you wearing” or “Why were you in that situation to begin with?” Instead of focusing on the lack of consent or the lack of respect for the victim’s boundaries, society often reasserts the expectation that girls are responsible for protecting themselves from harm.
Along with blaming the victims, On September 29, President Trump formally removed several key parts of the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX regulations, making it even more challenging for women to speak up. Trump had reinstated his framework from his 2020 presidency, making it more difficult to convict sexual abuse in college. He has made live hearings and cross-examinations mandatory, compared to the Biden administration which made it optional. With the difficulty that many victims are already facing with speaking out about their sexual assault, Trump’s removal of many key parts of Title IX has lowered the likeness that victims will speak up.
According to the National Women’s Law Center, schools will be forced to ignore sexual harassment victims if, they were sexually harassed in the wrong place, they asked the wrong person for help, they haven’t suffered enough by DeVos’s standard, they are no longer participating in the program, the person doesn’t attend the school, or they don’t submit a written complaint.
However, Cornell says that the 2024 regulations were never implemented there. How much more must be taken away before all victims stay silent forever?
This shift in conversation reflects a larger issue when it comes to sexual assault culture. This expectation that victims need to “justify” their actions while the actions of those who committed the assault gets pushed aside reinforces the idea that sexual assault could’ve been prevented if the victim made different choices. From the seven men accused in the Cornell 7 case to Brock Turner, society continues to give more consideration to the reputations of the accused rather than the women whose lives were impacted by sexual violence. When a man is given an essay as a “consequence” or given “6 months in country jail”, it reinforces a culture that expects women to live with the consequences of an action they did not commit.
This victim-blaming has led to many individuals keeping quiet about their situations. According to Jackson Health System, many don’t immediately tell people if they were sexually assaulted because of a fear of not being believed, shame, and guilt. The National Library of Medicine continues on with this idea by stating that less than 5% of victims report their situations to law enforcements.
The situation at Cornell has amplified the feeling of “needing to stay silent” with the lack of accountability being held towards all students aware of the situation and those involved. It brings to attention the amount of students that have gone through similar experiences as Jane Doe, but fear the outcome of speaking out. As what had happened occurred in 2024, but was only brought to light now, how many more assaults could’ve been covered up?
