How the Cornell case is affecting women who have experienced sexual assault
When Olivia Petter first saw the news about the sexual assault allegations at Cornell University, she was shocked by how familiar parts of the story felt for her.
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parts → affect → her
"The more I found out, the more triggered I became," she said.
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she → find → ?
"I think for me, the worst thing was seeing the group messages that these boys were allegedly sending to each other on the night of the alleged rape.
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boys → think → rape
Reading those exchanges brought the London-based author back to boarding school in England, where she says older boys targeted her and her friends from the age of 13.
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boys → read → 13
"They would walk past us and whisper 'Fresh meat,'" Petter said.
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Petter → walk → meat
"They would rate us out of ten and shout numbers at us when we walked down to the dining hall."
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we → rate → hall
Petter says she recalls boys pulling down girls' trousers while they held their lunch trays, humiliating them in the school cafeteria.
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they → say → cafeteria
After a party, when she was 17, she remembers a boy putting a "hand down my pants" when she was trying to go to sleep.
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she → remember → sleep
We hadn't been kissing... and I was kind of wriggling, trying to get him to stop."
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him → kiss → ?
"The thing that people need to understand is when something like that happens to you, it's really hard to just say, no, get off me, because your body goes into this panic mode," she said.
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she → need → mode
"You freeze and it takes a while for you to understand what's happening."
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what → freeze → while
"There were just so many instances of sexual assault and we didn't really recognize it at the time because we didn't have the language," she said, adding that the culture continued into her time at university.
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culture → be → university
Petter, now 32, is among those sharing their own experiences online in response to the recent rape allegations that have emerged at a Cornell University fraternity house.
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that → share → house
A former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, sued the university and seven former students last month, alleging she was drugged and repeatedly raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, when she was 20 years old.
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she → identify → October
Attorneys for some of the men have denied the accusations.
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Attorneys → deny → accusations
The case has led to a wider reckoning over attitudes to sexual violence.
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case → lead → violence
On social media, many women have been using the hashtag #IamJaneDoe to discuss their own experiences of sexual assault and rape.
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women → use → assault
Other universities have acknowledged the issue, too.
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universities → acknowledge → issue
As the case has become a national news story, the editorial board of The Daily Pennsylvanian — a student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania — published a recent piece titled "Penn has a Cornell problem, too."
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Penn → become → problem
For some survivors, following the coverage can feel like reliving an earlier assault, says Hannah Braunstein, a Washington D.C. based psychotherapist and trauma specialist.
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Braunstein → follow → assault
She says stories like these can bring back more than just memories for people who've been sexually assaulted.
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who → say → people
"Suddenly, they're inundated with all of this news and then their own experience through memories or body sensation is beginning to unfold for them.
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experience → inundate → them
It can be absolutely horrifying," Braunstein said.
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Braunstein → say → ?
"And it can immediately transport them back in time."
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it → transport → time
The yoga instructor and mindfulness coach, who lives in Winchester, Ky., first saw the news about Cornell on social media and immediately searched for more details.
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who → live → details
"I was so enraged, I set my phone down and just paced around my kitchen like a caged tiger," Smith recalled.
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Smith → enrage → tiger
She says the story brought back the physical distress she remembered from being assaulted as a child.
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she → say → child
"I had that feeling in my stomach that happened during my experience [when] I was 12," said Smith, who is now 53.
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who → have → experience
Braunstein says repeated exposure to stories like these can intensify emotions.
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exposure → say → emotions
Yet, people may feel compelled to keep reading, hoping more information will help them feel better.
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them → feel → ?
"We keep searching for more information because we think if we understand every detail, then finally we'll feel better internally," she said.
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she → keep → detail
"But, often it does the opposite, and keeps people activated internally."
Braunstein recommends using a timer to keep news or social media checks to five minutes a day.
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Braunstein → do → minutes
When someone feels overwhelmed, she suggests turning their attention to their immediate surroundings.
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she → feel → surroundings
"One thing I talk about with clients in my office is using first sight, looking around the room and calling out what you see, noticing what you hear," she said.
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she → talk → what
That's a grounding technique that works."
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that → work → ?
Smith said she eventually recognized that she needed a break from the comments on social media.
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she → say → media
Spending time outside, being with her dog and playing guitar has helped her feel calmer.
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her → spend → guitar
But, she said the anger remains, so she has started to write about it.
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she → say → it
Petter also turned to writing.
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Petter → turn → writing
As she continues following the case, she wants to use her anger to start a dialogue around sexual assault.
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she → continue → assault
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
