Respect Together stands with Jane Doe, Kendall Francis, and every survivor following the sexual assault cases at Cornell University and Louisiana State University. The allegations and new reporting are deeply disturbing. They demand thorough investigations, meaningful accountability from both the perpetrators and the systems that failed these survivors, and an honest examination of how institutions respond when students report sexual violence.

At Cornell, New York Attorney General Letitia James has been appointed special prosecutor following serious concerns about the original investigation and decision not to prosecute. We welcome independent scrutiny of the case and Cornell’s response. Survivors deserve to have their accounts fully heard and their reports investigated with respect and care from the beginning.

At Louisiana State University, the university’s Title IX process found a football player responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape. Despite that finding, the disciplinary consequences were subsequently reduced, allowing the student to return to the football program. A criminal investigation is now underway. The university’s administrative process is separate from the criminal justice process, raising important questions about how institutions communicate with survivors, impose meaningful accountability, and prioritize student safety.

While these cases are different, they underscore broader challenges survivors face when seeking help from institutions. Reporting systems may not be trauma-informed. Institutional processes may be confusing or lack transparency. Survivors may have to navigate multiple systems without clear information about their options or what will happen next.

A trauma-informed response recognizes that there is no single way a survivor will respond to sexual violence or decide when, how, or whether to report. Trauma can affect memory, disclosure, and decision-making, and survivors may live with safety concerns, cultural stigmas, or other circumstances that influence when and whether they seek help. Survivors deserve responses that prioritize safety, choice, and control.

Universities need strong partnerships with community-based rape crisis centers and other professionals with expertise in sexual violence. These organizations provide specialized support to survivors and can help institutions strengthen trauma-informed policies, prevention efforts, and responses. This expertise should be an essential part of how campuses respond to sexual violence.

Universities must provide clear options and accessible support, thoroughly investigate reports, and take meaningful steps to protect students. Institutional reputation, athletic success, or the standing of influential students must never take priority over student safety.

We must also examine whose experiences receive attention and whose pain is overlooked. The barriers Black survivors, and survivors of other marginalized identities, face when seeking support and accountability require sustained attention and action, including equitable access to culturally responsive services and support.

To Jane Doe and Kendall Francis: We hear you. We stand with you. You deserve support, dignity, and a fair opportunity to seek accountability and justice. You should have been able to pursue your education in safety. Your well-being and your futures matter.

And to every survivor whose story has not made national headlines: we hear you, too. You do not owe anyone your story. You can step away from coverage, limit what you read or share, and seek support on your own terms. A local sexual assault service provider can help you explore your options, whether or not you choose to report to police or participate in a campus process.

Respect Together will continue to provide educational resources, strengthen prevention efforts, and advocate for institutions that respond to sexual violence with care, transparency, and accountability. Survivors deserve safety, support, and a meaningful response. It is our collective duty, on a local, state, and national level, to make that the standard.