Cornell case puts New York’s progressive image at odds with its rape laws

New York lawmakers will review sexual-assault laws, including the ‘voluntary intoxication’ rule at the heart of the Cornell case.

A poster advertises an upcoming protest for sexual assault prevention at Cornell University in the US on October 1 [Lauren Petracca/Reuters]

Last month, a woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Cornell University, the fraternity Chi Phi and the seven fraternity members she accused of gang-raping her on the night of October 19, 2024.

Her allegations have triggered a nationwide reckoning in the United States over the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses.

list 1 of 3 Cornell rape allegations renew push to change New York sexual assault law

list 2 of 3 ‘I want the truth’: NY governor appoints prosecutor in Cornell rape case

list 3 of 3 Cornell president vows transparency amid outrage over fraternity rape case

But the case has also reignited efforts to reform laws in the state of New York.

While the left-leaning state has long presented itself as a leader in women’s rights, advocates say sexual assault survivors still face pervasive legal barriers when they seek justice.

Erica Vladimer, a lawyer and founding director of Harassment-Free New York, a survivor-led nonprofit, told Al Jazeera that much of the legislation currently in the spotlight is the culmination of years, if not decades, of work.

“These are bills that we have been fighting for for years when sexual violence is not in the news,” Vladimer said.

She drew a line between the #MeToo movement, which began in 2017 as an online campaign to denounce sexual misconduct, and the current wave of outrage following Doe’s allegations.

“It speaks to the fact that the #MeToo movement is not dead. It is a movement, not a moment,” Vladimer said.

Already, leaders in Albany, the state capital, have signalled they would take action following the Cornell case.

On Wednesday, the New York Assembly announced it had formed a working group to examine the state’s sexual-assault laws and develop recommendations for the 2027 legislative session.

Still, advocates say more concrete measures are needed to address the crisis.

“I appreciate that this work is happening,” said Lindsey Boylan, a New York City Council candidate. “It doesn’t undo the fact that rape culture is pervasive in the United States and very much so alive and well in New York.”

Boylan was the first woman to publicly accuse former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment in another high-profile misconduct case, back in 2020. She is among those calling for greater reform.

Here are some of the measures advocates are pushing state lawmakers to adopt or amend:

‘Voluntary intoxication’ statute

The Cornell University case has brought renewed attention to New York’s “ voluntary intoxication ” statute, a legal loophole that can make it harder to prosecute sexual assault when a person has willingly consumed alcohol or drugs.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul pledged on Friday to work with lawmakers to close the gap.

“It should not matter whether they chose to use drugs or alcohol. Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” Hochul said.

Under the current state law, a person who voluntarily drinks or takes drugs is not considered “mentally incapacitated” during an assault, even if they become too intoxicated to consent.

That can make it harder for prosecutors to bring a sex-crime charge. The law primarily recognises incapacitation in the context of sexual assault when a person was involuntarily intoxicated, unconscious or otherwise “physically helpless”.

That distinction has become central to the Cornell case. Doe has acknowledged that she consumed substances before the alleged rape, saying that she was pressured into drinking alcohol and taking the dissociative drug ketamine.

The Tompkins County district attorney initially declined to bring charges, pointing to the law’s stance on “voluntary intoxication”. But the investigation has since been reopened, amid public pressure.

New York is one of 19 states in the US that distinguish between “voluntary” and “involuntary” intoxication when it comes to determining consent in sexual violence cases.

But the Cornell case has spurred a push to remove the distinction from the law books. Critics have argued that sexual assault is no less grievous if a victim is drunk or has chosen to take drugs.

“I mean, to have New York, a supposedly progressive state, penalise people who are sexually abused for drinking is disgusting,” Boylan told Al Jazeera.

Vladimer, for her part, explained that distinguishing between “voluntary” and “involuntary” intoxication as a means for pursuing sexual assault cases shifts the focus onto the actions of victims, rather than perpetrators.

“We essentially have codified victim-blaming by saying if you become voluntarily intoxicated and then are sexually assaulted, you essentially cannot seek justice in our court system,” Vladimer told Al Jazeera.

In June, the New York state Senate unanimously passed a bill to allow sexual assault charges regardless of whether a victim is intoxicated voluntarily or involuntarily.

But the legislation has yet to be taken up in the state Assembly.

Students look on at Cornell University’s campus in Ithaca, New York, on October 1 [Lauren Petracca/Reuters]

New York’s rape-shield protections limit the use of evidence about a complainant’s sexual history and conduct in criminal proceedings. But those protections do not currently extend to civil cases.

This distinction could matter in the Cornell case because Doe filed a civil lawsuit.

Vladimer said questions about a survivor’s behaviour could come up in the discovery process of a civil case, as well as in court.

“There is the potential of her having to face questions about things like her sexual history,” Vladimer said.

Bridie Farrell, the director of victim rights advocacy and legislation at the law firm Weitz and Luxenberg, told Al Jazeera that she has seen major differences in how male and female survivors are questioned in civil cases where this practice is still permitted.

In one case involving a brother and sister who were both sexually assaulted, Farrell said the man was not questioned about his sexual history while the woman was “grilled on it”.

A bill sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger would extend rape-shield protections to civil proceedings. The measure passed the Senate in June and is currently before the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

A student walks through an archway at Myron Taylor Hall on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, on October 1 [Lauren Petracca/Reuters]

Retaliatory defamation lawsuits

Advocates are also pushing for legislation to prevent retaliatory defamation lawsuits.

Boylan said she has spent more than $2m defending herself in legal proceedings connected to her accusations against Cuomo, who stepped down as New York governor in 2021.

He has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing, despite a state attorney general’s report that concluded he “engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment”.

“Every step of the way, we have a system that penalises people for speaking up about their own harm,” Boylan said.

Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, a former aide who also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, are proponents of the Speak Your Truth Act, which would provide legal protections for people who publicly report sexual assault, harassment or discrimination.

The bill, sponsored by Assembly member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, would make certain communications about sexual assault, harassment or discrimination privileged when they are made without malice.

It would also allow survivors of sexual misconduct who successfully defend themselves against a defamation lawsuit to recover legal fees and costs. The bill remains in an Assembly committee.

Cornell University and local officials in Ithaca, New York, have faced questions about how they handled the Jane Doe case [Lauren Petracca/Reuters]

A recent win, a long way to go

For Bridie Farrell, the victims’ rights advocate, the fight for legal change is personal.

Farrell was a 15-year-old competitive speed skater in 1997 when she said she was sexually abused by her 33-year-old teammate and mentor. She came forward with her story of abuse in 2013.

By then, the statute of limitations in her case had expired. Farrell later became an advocate for changes to New York’s laws, helping to pass the Child Victims Act in 2019 that extended the time available for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to pursue criminal and civil claims.

The law allowed Farrell to file her own case, which she did in 2020. She tells Al Jazeera that a trial has finally been scheduled for June 2027.

“Before we passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, New York was one of the worst in the country,” Farrell said of the situation for sexual assault survivors seeking justice.

Farrell considers the legal impediments to Doe’s case — like the “voluntary intoxication” statute — all too predictable. “I’m not surprised if we haven’t updated a law that is archaic,” she said.

Still, lawmakers have signalled willingness to reform such laws. In announcing the state Assembly’s working group on sexual-assault laws, Speaker Carl Heastie pledged to “thoughtfully” consider how the state can strengthen its laws.

“The allegations being reported out of Cornell University are truly horrifying,” Heastie said on Wednesday. “We want to do everything we can to ensure victims of sexual assault see justice served.”

But survivors and sexual violence advocates say the Cornell case points to problems that go beyond any single law. They hope to see widespread systemic and societal change.

“Changing legislation is incredibly important. But legislation in a lot of cases can only go [as far as] the paper that it’s written on,” Boylan said. “It would be amiss to orient this horrible, tragic, unacceptable, infuriating case in isolation without looking at the broader rape culture of our state and our country.”

纽约州立法者将审查性侵犯法律，包括康奈尔案核心的“自愿醉酒”规则。

一张海报宣传了10月1日在美国康奈尔大学举行的预防性侵犯抗议活动。[Lauren Petracca/路透社]

上个月，一名化名为 Jane Doe 的女子对康奈尔大学、Chi Phi 兄弟会以及她指控在 2024 年 10 月 19 日晚轮奸她的七名兄弟会成员提起诉讼。

她的指控在美国引发了全国范围内对大学校园性侵犯普遍存在的反思。

康奈尔大学三起强奸指控中的第一起，再次推动纽约州修改性侵犯法

列表 2/3 “我要真相”：纽约州州长任命康奈尔强奸案检察官

康奈尔大学校长就兄弟会强奸案引发的众怒誓言保持透明（共3条，此为第3条）

但此案也重新燃起了纽约州改革法律的努力。

虽然这个左倾国家长期以来一直标榜自己是女性权利的领导者，但倡导者表示，性侵幸存者在寻求正义时仍然面临普遍的法律障碍。

律师兼“纽约无骚扰”（Harassment-Free New York）——一个由幸存者领导的非营利组织——的创始主任埃里卡·弗拉迪默（Erica Vladimer）告诉半岛电视台，目前备受关注的许多立法都是多年甚至数十年工作的成果。

“这些法案是我们多年来一直在争取通过的，而那时性暴力事件还没有成为新闻热点，”弗拉基米尔说。

她将始于 2017 年的 #MeToo 运动（一场谴责性行为不端的网络运动）与目前因 Doe 的指控而引发的愤怒浪潮联系起来。

“这表明#MeToo运动并没有消亡。它是一场运动，而不是一时兴起，”弗拉基米尔说道。

州首府奥尔巴尼的领导人已经表示，他们将在康奈尔事件后采取行动。

周三，纽约州议会宣布成立一个工作组，负责审查该州的性侵犯法律，并为 2027 年立法会议提出建议。

不过，倡导者们表示，需要采取更具体的措施来应对这场危机。

“我很赞赏这项工作的开展，”纽约市议会候选人林赛·博伊兰说。“但这并不能改变强奸文化在美国普遍存在，尤其是在纽约依然盛行的事实。”

博伊兰是第一个公开指控前纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫性骚扰的女性，那是在2020年另一起备受瞩目的不当行为案件中。她也是呼吁进行更大改革的人士之一。

以下是一些倡导者正在敦促州议员采纳或修改的措施：

“自愿醉酒”法

康奈尔大学的这起案件再次引起了人们对纽约州“自愿醉酒”法规的关注。该法规是一个法律漏洞，当一个人自愿饮酒或吸毒时，可能会使性侵犯的起诉变得更加困难。

纽约州州长凯西·霍楚周五承诺将与立法者合作，缩小差距。

“无论他们选择吸毒还是酗酒，都不应该成为评判标准。自愿醉酒绝不是性侵或轮奸的通行证。就这么简单。”霍楚说道。

根据现行州法律，自愿饮酒或吸毒的人在遭受攻击时，即使醉酒到无法同意，也不被视为“精神无行为能力”。

这可能会使检察官更难提起性犯罪指控。法律主要在性侵犯案件中认定，当一个人处于非自愿醉酒状态、昏迷状态或其他“身体无助”状态时，才构成行为能力丧失。

这一区别已成为康奈尔案的核心。原告约翰·多伊承认，在被指控的强奸案发生前，她曾服用过药物，并称自己被迫饮酒和服用分离性药物氯胺酮。

汤普金斯县地方检察官最初拒绝提起诉讼，理由是法律对“自愿醉酒”的规定。但在公众压力下，调查已被重新启动。

纽约州是美国 19 个在性暴力案件中判定是否同意时区分“自愿”和“非自愿”醉酒的州之一。

但康奈尔大学的案例促使人们呼吁从法律条文中取消这种区分。批评人士认为，如果受害者醉酒或吸毒，性侵犯的性质并不会因此而减轻。

“我的意思是，纽约作为一个号称进步的州，竟然因为性虐待受害者饮酒而对其进行惩罚，这太令人作呕了，”博伊兰告诉半岛电视台。

弗拉基米尔则解释说，将“自愿”和“非自愿”醉酒区分开来，以此作为追究性侵犯案件的手段，可以将重点转移到受害者的行为上，而不是加害者的行为上。

“我们实际上已经将受害者有罪论写入法律，规定如果你自愿醉酒后遭到性侵犯，你基本上无法在我们的司法系统中寻求正义，”弗拉基米尔告诉半岛电视台。

6 月，纽约州参议院一致通过了一项法案，允许对性侵犯者提起指控，无论受害者是自愿还是非自愿醉酒。

但该法案尚未提交州议会审议。

10月1日，学生们在纽约州伊萨卡市康奈尔大学校园内观望。[Lauren Petracca/路透社]

纽约州的强奸案证据保护法限制在刑事诉讼中使用有关原告性史和性行为的证据。但这些保护措施目前并不适用于民事案件。

这一区别在康奈尔案中可能很重要，因为约翰·多伊提起的是民事诉讼。

弗拉基米尔表示，在民事案件的调查取证过程中以及法庭上，都可能出现有关幸存者行为的问题。

弗拉基米尔说：“她有可能要面对有关她性经历等方面的质询。”

Weitz and Luxenberg 律师事务所的受害者权利倡导和立法主管 Bridie Farrell 告诉半岛电视台，她发现，在民事案件中，当这种做法仍然被允许时，男性和女性幸存者受到的讯问方式存在重大差异。

法雷尔说，在一个涉及兄妹二人均遭到性侵犯的案件中，警方没有询问男子的性经历，而对女子则进行了“盘问”。

由州参议员莉兹·克鲁格提出的法案将把强奸案受害者保护条款的适用范围扩大到民事诉讼。该法案已于6月在参议院获得通过，目前正在州众议院司法委员会审议中。

10 月 1 日，一名学生走过位于纽约州伊萨卡市康奈尔大学校园内的迈伦·泰勒大厅的拱门。[Lauren Petracca/路透社]

报复性诽谤诉讼

倡导者们也在推动立法，以防止报复性诽谤诉讼。

博伊兰表示，她已花费超过 200 万美元为自己辩护，以应对与她指控科莫相关的法律诉讼。科莫于 2021 年辞去了纽约州州长职务。

尽管州检察长报告认定他“从事了构成性骚扰的行为”，但他一再否认任何不当行为的指控。

博伊兰说：“我们每一步都建立起一套惩罚那些敢于发声谈论自身所受伤害的人的制度。”

博伊兰和夏洛特·贝内特（她曾是科莫的助手，也指控科莫性骚扰）是《说出你的真相法案》的支持者，该法案将为公开举报性侵犯、性骚扰或歧视的人提供法律保护。

该法案由州议员杰西卡·冈萨雷斯-罗哈斯发起，规定在不怀恶意的情况下，有关性侵犯、性骚扰或歧视的某些言论将享有特权。

该法案还将允许性侵受害者在成功为自己辩护、驳回诽谤诉讼后，收回诉讼费用和相关开支。目前，该法案仍在州议会委员会审议中。

康奈尔大学和纽约州伊萨卡市的地方官员因如何处理简·多伊案而受到质疑。[劳伦·佩特拉卡/路透社]

最近一场胜利，但路还很长。

对于受害者权益倡导者布里迪·法雷尔来说，争取法律变革的斗争是她个人的事。

1997年，15岁的法雷尔是一名竞技速滑运动员。她说，当时她遭到33岁的队友兼导师的性侵。2013年，她公开了自己遭受性侵的遭遇。

到那时，她的案件已过了诉讼时效。法雷尔后来成为纽约州法律改革的倡导者，并帮助促成了2019年《儿童受害者法案》的通过，该法案延长了儿童性虐待幸存者提起刑事和民事诉讼的时效。

法律允许法雷尔提起自己的诉讼，她于 2020 年提起了诉讼。她告诉半岛电视台，审判最终定于 2027 年 6 月进行。

“在 2019 年我们通过《儿童受害者法案》之前，纽约是全国性侵犯幸存者寻求正义的处境最糟糕的地区之一，”法雷尔在谈到性侵犯幸存者寻求正义的处境时说道。

法雷尔认为，多伊案件面临的法律障碍——例如“自愿醉酒”条款——都在意料之中。“如果我们没有更新一条过时的法律，我一点也不感到惊讶，”她说。

尽管如此，立法者们已表示愿意改革此类法律。在宣布成立州议会性侵犯法律工作组时，议长卡尔·希斯蒂承诺将“认真”考虑如何加强该州的法律。

“康奈尔大学爆出的这些指控真是令人震惊，”希斯蒂周三表示。“我们希望尽一切努力确保性侵受害者得到公正的对待。”

但性暴力幸存者和维权人士表示，康奈尔大学的这起案件所揭示的问题远非任何单一法律所能涵盖。他们希望看到广泛的系统性和社会性变革。

“修改法律固然极其重要。但很多情况下，法律条文的作用仅限于纸面上，”博伊兰说。“如果不审视我们州乃至我们国家更广泛的强奸文化，就孤立地看待这起可怕、悲惨、令人无法接受、令人愤怒的案件，那就大错特错了。”