If You're Not Angry You Are Not Paying Attention

Dedicated to—and in the name of justice for—Jane Doe and all of the women fighting against SA. 

In 2026, a woman's body and her consent are still subject  to doubt and debate—specifically Jane Doe's. On September 16th of this year, a Cornell University student using the pseudonym "Jane Doe" filed a civil lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against the university, her former sorority, and the "Cornell Seven." 

But who are the "Cornell Seven"? In the lawsuit, she identified them as a group of men from the Cornell Chi Phi fraternity who, on the night of October 19, 2024, assaulted Doe for hours in an incident involving alcohol and ketamine. Doe could neither move nor speak, and when she tried, no one chose to listen—or at least, 57 of them chose to look the other way. Since Doe had been drugged against her will, one of the most damning pieces of evidence regarding this event is a message sent to the Chi Phi group chat claiming that Doe’s body was “available’’ to everyone in the group—a group comprising 57 men. Seven of them went to the party where she lay unconscious and chose to act against her unconscious body, acting as if a woman’s body was merely a thing men could take whenever they pleased—a mindset fostered by a system designed for them. Thus, while seven men took action, the other 50 looked the other way and let the injustice unfold right before their eyes; no one spoke up, no one reported it—for them it was just another message in the group chat. However, the first step to helping Jane—and all the other women who have a story to tell—is to say their abusers names out loud! They do not deserve a protected future when they have already altered the women's pasts... So let's stop calling them "The Cornell Seven"; they are Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar.

Today, Jane’s voice is being heard; even if Cornell’s administrators didn't listen back then, the rest of the world is listening now—I hear her, and we all hear her. Yet, it took two years for Jane’s voice to truly break through. In the United States alone, 77% of sexual assault and abuse cases go unreported because we live in a world where the futures of abusers are protected more than the safety of women. When Jane spoke out, only two of her abusers (Matthew Ingalls and Jonathan Newel)  were expelled, while the others were simply assigned to write an essay on the matter.

It is no coincidence, then, that fear of speaking up is fostered, given that 92% of reports regarding sexual abuse and rape do not result in a conviction. Faced with such terrifying statistics and a system that often works against us women, support must come from within the community. In a world where—while it may not be "all men"—but almost every woman has suffered some form of sexual abuse at the hands of a man, we women must stand up for one another. Fear should not hold us back; that is why I have prepared a list of actions we can take to build community and take action against sexual harassment.

Listen to the victims, it doesn't matter if you know them or not, listen!

When a woman shares her story, she is taking the first step to breaking the cycle of abuse, so we need to create a safe space for her where she can speak up and feel listened to. Avoid questions like what were you wearing? Why were you there? …. and just make her know that you stand with her!

Start a conversation and take a stand against rape culture!

In situations where we lack control over many things, our voice is our most powerful tool. Sexual harassment must stop being a taboo subject; it is a modern-day issue— where globally, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence in her lifetime. It is not normal that we all have a story to tell, and we shouldn't keep them to ourselves; instead, we should talk to one another. We must recognize that these aren't just statistics, but the stories of real women around us—some closer than we realize. Let’s keep the conversation going and stand up to abusers.

Fund women's organizations.

Donate to organizations that help women in SA situations by amplifying their voices, and supporting survivors. If you have a story to tell you can contact organizations like  Take back the night and Start by believing. If you want to donate for victims you can do it at NSVRC and SARA.

Hold each other accountable, we are not alone!

Violence can occur anywhere and in any form—at work, on the street, at school, and beyond. Take a stand when you see it, even if you don't know the victim! Let's create a safer environment for everyone.

Finally, let's use spaces like this to open conversations that are necessary, a lot of women don't even know they were in a sexual assault situation, since it is a delicate subject; however, as I mentioned it shouldn't be a taboo, lets continue this conversation so we can stop giving abusers jobs in the government or even let them become presidents…we take the power from them when we stand with each other. Let's get very angry together, and just like that, they know we are paying attention…