Inside rape culture’s strong grip

The fact that episodes of sexual violence like the gang rape that Doe alleged in her lawsuit still occur is “disheartening,” Burke said, but it’s the response to the Cornell case that shows how much has changed. “The hashtag was never going to be the end-all, be-all for the kind of difference we need to see around sexual and gender-based violence in this country,” she said. “Watching the response to Jane Doe and the Cornell case is really indicative of what MeToo has made possible.” Without MeToo, “would it be this big? Would we be having a sustained national conversation around it? Would people be this bold and responsive to it? Had not we had this movement, I don’t know that we can say that.”

For women and survivors of sexual assault, the ever-repeating cycle of scandals over sexual violence without meaningful change is painful and exhausting.

“There’s that kind of cumulation of rage,” said Kenney. After “all of this work that’s gone into legal reform and training the police and educating people, it’s very frustrating when it appears to not move the needle.”

Burke sees it differently. That backlash itself is a sign that something is working.

“Backlash to me is always a signal that there’s movement,” she said. “They’re responding to something.”

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