In September 2026, Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell University in the United States of America, filed a civil lawsuit against the university and its local Chi Phi fraternity (a campus male student social society or, simply put, residence). Jane Doe alleged that she was given ketemine and gang-raped by seven Chi Phi members on 19 October 2024 while she was intoxicated. In official documents, she stated that the men were given an opportunity to lessen the consequences of their conduct by submitting essays.
Although this is an ongoing case, it reveals that despite elite academic institutions presenting themselves as safe environments, it seems that they are beginning to become hotspots of systematic abuse. How is it possible for an institution to allow students to get away with such heinous allegations just by writing an essay? Elite institutions in the United States such as Cornell use Title IX (a United States law that prohibits the exclusion and discrimination under any educational programme or activity that gets Federal financial assistance) to prevent gender based violence. Yet the lawsuit that has been filed exposes how these legal frameworks are often ignored to protect reputable institutions.
While universities handle cases of assault internally, by giving perpetrators a slap on the wrist or simply burying these cases, they prove that rules exist selectively to protect the reputation of the institution and not the students. This is not an isolated scandal at an American university. It is the revelation of a global pattern where powerful institutions prioritise reputation over student safety.
This decay is not unique to foreign Ivy Leagues. It also cuts deep into the core of South African law enforcement. In late September 2026, former Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service Shadrack Sibiya, was arrested for allegedly raping an 18-year-old girl, sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl, human trafficking, and negligent handling of a firearm. Furthermore, ongoing inquiries such as the Madlanga Commission have raised alarming concerns about internal corruption within the South African Police Service. In a time where South African women are scared for their lives, how can the man who is tasked with leading the institution that deals with the safety of South Africans be the same person who is accused of the crimes that South African women are seeking protection from? This is no longer about an isolated criminal act. It shows the reason why GBV is taking so long to be resolved. Bureaucratic structures are sitting on a legacy of deep-rooted systemic rot. Top law enforcement officers being implicated in not just sexual violence cases, but also corruption signal a systemic failure to South Africans.
Earlier this year, a viral post surfaced in which a UP student was accused of raping another student in an on-campus bathroom. UP students took to the streets of Hatfield to protest, from Prospect Street to Respublica where the alleged perpetrator was said to have been staying. Although students were visibly upset due to this incident, after the protest, the story vanished from the news cycle and nothing was ever reported on what had happened to the alleged perpetrator. It is clear that the systemic failure of SAPS has trickled down to regular citizens and students, and we have the right to ask, “How can we trust lower authorities when the top ranked officers are accused of the very same atrocities that they are meant to stop?” Equally, how is the swift radio silence supposed to ensure that we as female students at the university are safe? This is a reflection of how institutions from SAPS down to universities are habitualising the act of sweeping institutional failure under the rug.
The Q4 2025/26 stats show an 8.5% drop in rape cases. Sounds like an improvement right? The arrest of the former Deputy Police Commissioner being arrested for six different criminal counts lets the statistics speak for themselves! This significant number has not stopped the dread that South African women have faced this year, following the discovery of the 12 women that were murdered between July and September this year. Daily, female students see the mercilessness of GBV with reports from pages such as Women for Change. Daily, women hear of a friend or an acquaintance being a victim of GBV. Daily, women constantly look over their shoulders as they walk or drive home. This numerical drop means nothing, especially when the infrastructure of justice is rotten right to the core. Additionally, in the Q4 stats report, the Acting Minister Firoz Cachalia confirmed that the state has committed R1.6 billion to the struggle of GBV. Perhaps the state should have saved that R1.6 billion. After all, what good is throwing money at the problem when civil servants such as the former Deputy Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya are getting state salaries while being perpetrators? Are we paying higher-ups to investigate crimes or are we simply funding their legal defense funds?
From the lawsuit against Cornell University and its Chi Phi fraternity to the arrest of former Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya on human trafficking and rape charges, these cases expose a global pattern of institutional failure. On our very own campus, initial outrage over sexual assault dies down, proving that authorities prefer managing optics over broadcasting authority. While the state slams R1.6 billion allocations, reality highlights a different story where women cannot buy safety and our tax money is paying the salaries of the very people who abuse us. No amount of money can reform a failed system. It is not a resource issue, but an accountability issue. Who is watching the watchmen while the watchmen run in the dark?
Visual: Mila Jordaan
