SINGAPORE: AWARE, Singapore’s leading women's rights and gender equality advocacy group, recently asked Singaporeans to stand in solidarity with “Jane Doe,” the Cornell University student in the middle of what is arguably the most high-profile current sexual assault case.
The young woman said she was drugged and assaulted by several fraternity members in October 2024.
After her story was reported by student journalists last month, student protests, an investigation by New York’s officials, and questions about the university’s leadership have resulted.
At the same time, many women, and even some men, have come forward on social media to share similar stories. And after an attempt was made by a public commentator to identify the woman, many began using the hashtag #iamjanedoe, both in solidarity with the victim and to protect her identity, and as a protest against doxxing.
AWARE’s call
On Oct 8, AWARE joined the call to stand in solidarity with the young woman.
“Singapore, we are all Jane Doe. Even on our little red dot, we have the duty to stand in solidarity with her, and all the Jane Does of the world. Because the story of Jane Doe happens on our shores too,” the group wrote, asking Singaporeans to share its post to “make sure that perpetrators will never have the comfort of our silence.”
The group argued that because Singapore does not have the fraternity culture problem other places do, there are still many sexual misconduct cases perpetrated by Singaporeans. AWARE cited the example of the wife rape ring and the SG Nasi Lemak chat groups.
However, the post received many comments from people who blamed Jane Doe. In an Oct 14 post, AWARE shared some of these and asked netizens to shift the shame of sexual assault away from survivors toward perpetrators
More recently, the group also shared posts from Singaporeans who heeded the call to stand with Jane Doe, and asked them, and others, to continue to fight the good fight.
“Keep it coming! Keep reposting and say the words, ‘SG, we are Jane Doe’. Together, let's make sure that perpetrators will never have the comfort of our silence,” AWARE wrote on Oct 22.
It shared a compilation of posts from individuals and groups who want to see shame change sides.
One wrote, “I know there are good men in Singapore… I know there are bad men in Singapore… who have harmed men and women.
Sometimes I called out their bad behaviour. More often I did not.
I’d like us to do better. I’m not saying it will be easy. I’m saying if more of us hold us to account, it will become easier.” /TISG
Read also: Amid more molest & assault cases, Singaporean TikToker tells men, 'Don't enable weird behaviour'