We should begin with prevention. Consent shouldn’t be a field to examine. It have to be voluntary, knowledgeable, ongoing, and freely given. It can’t exist when an individual is incapacitated, and it may be withdrawn at any time.
So how did younger males come to imagine this was acceptable? As a society, we now have failed to teach younger folks about consent, respect, and the gravity of sexual violence. That schooling should start earlier than school; we can’t wait till they arrive on campus.
School college students want greater than a single orientation presentation they neglect by October. Faculties ought to present sustained, sensible schooling about consent, coercion, alcohol and medicines, wholesome relationships, and bystander duty.
However schooling and prevention alone are usually not sufficient. Establishments should have protocols to make sure justice when prevention fails.
On Sept. 18, 2026, in response to latest group outrage over how the case was dealt with, Tompkins County District Lawyer Matthew Van Houten issued a assertion explaining why his investigation resulted in a scarcity of felony fees. Jane Doe’s credibility “was by no means in query,” he wrote, explaining that the preliminary sworn assertion shared with the DA, which was reviewed by “a number of prosecutors and felony investigators,” didn’t embody the total data offered in Jane Doe’s 2026 civil swimsuit.
