LECTORAAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT – De Haagse Hogeschool

In September 2026, a former Cornell University student (identified in court documents as Jane Doe) filed a civil lawsuit against her university and seven fraternity members. She alleges that in October 2024, she was drugged and raped for seven hours at their frat house. According to Jane Doe, Cornell and other institutions failed to protect her: no criminal charges were brought against the seven men she accused, and a few got away with simply writing an essay. Now, recent attention on these allegations triggered public outcry. So, the New York governor stepped in to have the case to be reopened.

Unfortunately, Cornell is not an anomaly. Research shows that about one in four undergraduate women still experience sexual violence during college. Despite the #MeToo movement, despite students now shouting that they are fed up with “sexual assault being treated as a non-issue,” the problem is far from resolved.

A Jane Doe in distress (image created by ChatGPT Plus)

Yet, it’s not like universities are ignoring the issue. Many claim to have zero-tolerance for sexual harassment and assault. Universities have many policies in place, reporting systems, codes of conduct and compulsory training programs. But are these initiatives really making a meaningful change?

I am not convinced. A big part of the problem is the story that universities tell themselves. They present themselves as inclusive and meritocratic, and they imply that sexism belongs to the past and that women are empowered. Because of such stories,  gender inequality becomes more difficult to recognize and to deal with. When sexual violence occurs, the institution tends to treat it as simply being the misconduct of a few individuals. They do not acknowledge the way that misbehaviour may be normalized, because of their organizational culture.

As Moira Donegan observes in the Guardian, “every court and every university, and every institution will say: ‘We take sexual violence extremely seriously.’ And everyone will find, with uncanny consistency, reasons not to take it very seriously at all.”

In her book, Complaint! Sara Ahmed describes how victims of sexual harassment are often described as difficult, as lacking resilience, and as “feminist killjoys.” They are seen as oversensitive, vindictive or of having misinterpreted a situation. Their credibility is nearly always put into question.

In the Cornell case, we see the same old questions resurface: Is Jane Doe really telling the truth? Had she been drinking? Did she remember correctly? How did she behave in the past?

The fear that men could be wrongly accused also comes up regularly. No matter the severity of the case, claims such as Donald Trump’s: “It’s a scary time for young men in America,” and the emergence of groups such as #ProtectOurBoys, feed the belief that men are regularly the victims of false accusations of sexual harassment and assault. The lives of men with promising careers could be destroyed in no time. However, while false reports may occur, rigorous studies show that this only happens in two to eight percent of cases.

Indeed, choosing the long road of falsely accusing someone would certainly be a challenge. Most cases, (like the Cornell case), take years to resolve, and alleged victims suffer from burnout and depression as a result. Jane Doe dropped out of university and is struggling with her mental health. Not only is she being blamed for what she claims happened to her, but  she’s now also getting online threats from internet trolls, who are “trying to shame her” and intimidate her.

Would it not be essential for universities to take another look at their social safety initiatives? Could they not provide better support to victims? Before first doubting their claims, first assume that there is a high chance they are telling the truth.

Also, rather than dealing with a case when it explodes, universities should work more on prevention. Currently, studies show that many of the workshops and trainings provided at  universities are not very effective. Most trainings “are exceedingly brief, off-the-shelf, one size fits all, and delivered only via online modalities,” according to Cortina and Areguin. Many of these trainings increase knowledge about what sexual harassment is and how to report it, but do little to help change behavior.  

Having more and better conversations with students about sexual harassment and assault would be a good start. In a society where the manosphere keeps gaining influence, and in a political culture in which a man can brag that he can “grab women by the pussy,” and still become the president of the United States, universities must have on-going conversations about misogyny, peer accountability, consent and coercion.

Universities should train students face to face (and not online), to recognize and challenge dangerous peer norms. They should oversee high risk social settings more rigorously.

It’s easy for a university to announce “zero tolerance.” The real test is whether they are willing to seriously examine their organizational culture, make meaningful changes, and stop using their current initiatives as an excuse for passivity.