Nothing about a sexual assault story should seem familiar. Whether it happened to you or someone you know, you want to believe that what happened will lead to change. That others will be better protected. That you won't keep seeing the same systemic failures, because the world has to get safer.
But then another case makes headlines, and you notice a painful pattern.
The latest involves a lawsuit in which a former Cornell student (identified only as Jane Doe) has accused seven Chi Phi fraternity members of drugging and gang-raping her in October 2024. Jane Doe reported the alleged assault to Cornell police that year, but prosecutors declined to bring charges. Two years later, the criminal investigation has been reopened — but as of publication, no criminal charges have been filed.
The story has sparked an uproar over what allegedly happened that night — but also over what happened afterward, as Jane Doe tried to navigate the institutions she turned to for help.
Astronaut and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen has been here before. "Being a sexual violence survivor, and hearing about more perpetrators getting away with heinous crimes, feels like a Sisyphean experience where our pain, without justice, is endlessly repeated," Nguyen tells KCM.
After she was raped while a student at Harvard in 2013, Nguyen reported the assault and opted for her rape kit to be filed under "Jane Doe." When it was almost too late, she learned her choice to stay anonymous gave her only six months to act before the state destroyed her kit, preventing any future legal action. "The worst trauma I felt was not being raped; it was being betrayed by America's criminal justice system," she recalls.
Her push to compel the state of Massachusetts to preserve the evidence in her own case inspired Nguyen to found the civil rights organization Rise in 2014. She went on to help write the federal Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act, which was signed into law in 2016.
We spoke with Nguyen about what the Cornell case reveals about how survivors are treated, why this particular story has struck such a nerve, and what she hopes comes next.
KCM: When you first heard about the Cornell case, what did it bring up for you?
Amanda Nguyen: When I see perpetrators commit heinous crimes and get away with little to no accountability, it feels like a mop churning in a bucket — wipe, rinse, repeat. The abusers carry on unscathed. Meanwhile, survivors are left to carry the burden. We must pick up the smashed, hurt parts of ourselves and try to piece together our own justice, because we will not see justice from the system. We must do so in a world that blames us. We must heal ourselves in a world that stigmatizes victims. It's a paradoxical pain, both isolating and deeply unfair, yet felt by millions of survivors across the world.
Enormous attention has been paid to what Jane Doe said, when she said it, and how she described what happened afterward. What do you wish the public better understood about what happens to a person after sexual violence, and what it can take to report it?
I wish the public understood that the law was not built for survivors. The system is inherently stacked against them. Some statistics show that only 1 percent of reported rapes are convicted, which means that out of 100 rape cases that are reported, only 1 case results in justice. With those odds, why would any survivor feel safe to report? It takes enormous courage to move forward in a broken criminal justice system.
You’ve spoken about how systems meant to help survivors can sometimes become another source of trauma. What does this case tell you about the challenges survivors can face when they turn to the justice system?
The outrage that has exploded from this case stems from the lack of accountability. In the U.S., there are survivors who have had to pay for their own rape kits. In my case, my rape kit was almost destroyed, untested. I did what survivors are supposed to do: I went to the hospital and to the police. Instead of receiving help, I found out that the justice system is deeply broken.
The text messages attributed to the young men in this case have been extremely difficult to read. What do you think they reveal about the way we talk about women, sex, and consent?
The men in that group chat were Ivy League students. They know what consent is, but they did not care. They understood that this world punishes perpetrators far less than it punishes victims.
Sadly, stories of sexual assault aren't rare. But something about this case has captured the public’s attention in a different way. Why do you think that is?
It's because of the injustice and the outrageous disparity between the violence perpetrated and the consequences that were imposed. Instead of being tried, these gang rapists were asked to write an essay. The consequence didn't match the violence. And of course, it's the fact that there are so many survivors of sexual assault.
Editor’s note: Cornell imposed a range of disciplinary sanctions in the case, including expulsions and suspensions. Some students were assigned reflection papers, though Cornell says those sanctions were not for findings of sexual assault.
What would meaningful change look like now?
We need to pass the Survivor Bill of Rights in all 50 states, to reform the justice system into a survivor-centered, trauma-informed process. We’ve passed over 120 laws protecting survivors. You can learn about that at the website for Rise, the nonprofit we created by survivors, for survivors.
What would you tell Jane Doe right now, if you could?
I believe you. You are not alone. You will make it through. Your bravery has and will continue to change the world. Justice is on its way.
The interview was condensed and edited for clarity.
