By now we’ve all seen the news: in 2024, a young woman, “Jane Doe,” was allegedly gang raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University. And now, in 2026, she has filed a lawsuit after no proper action was taken in response by either the school or the authorities. This has begun a wave of awareness surrounding sexual assault, a level of awareness and action we needed years ago but are only now receiving. Amidst all the support and awareness, a specific online movement was sparked after reporter Michael Tracey took to social media, stating that he wanted to dox and identify Jane Doe. Doxxing is referred to as intentionally exposing and revealing someone’s personal and private identifying information, such as their address, workplace or financial information, and is typically done with malicious intent and without consent. On X, previously known as Twitter, Tracey wrote, “I would be happy to publish her name and identifying information,” and then continued to state that this was legal under the First Amendment. Tracey proceeded to ask, “If anyone has the ‘balls’ to name this Jane Doe so we can all evaluate her veracity.”
In response, women all over social media and the world have claimed to be Jane Doe themselves, in action to protect her identity. This movement started as a way to band together as women and protect Jane Doe from those who wish her identity revealed and safety from the public eye to disappear. However, it has since grown as a protest against the society we live in and the way in which sexual assault victims and situations are handled within the justice system, as well as our communities. Fueled by the urgency to protect women worldwide, women have taken a stand. “I am Jane Doe” serves as a reminder of the hardships and differences in rights and treatment that women face daily, in and out of the justice system. All women are Jane Doe until the system changes and takes accountability for its shortcomings and failures on behalf of all women and victims.
The online movement “I am Jane Doe” is not only an act of protection and protest, but also a moment of reckoning. Driven by the lack of action, women have now been motivated to share their own individual experiences with sexual assault and harassment — mainly cases where no action was taken and the system failed to do what was promised: to protect them. “I am Jane Doe” has offered a space to share experiences that are heavily marked as taboo by society.
One in four women are sexually assaulted or harassed, while one in five women experience attempted or completed sexual assault. The numbers are here; the action is not. The times when there is action, it is almost always reactive as opposed to proactive. “I am Jane Doe” has created a movement that is gaining momentum and is recognizing the way in which change has to occur. This tidal wave of a movement is one of necessity and one that has been fueled by years of these stories playing on repeat with no resolution. At the end of the day, all women are Jane Doe until no woman is.