gshc2020.com

Her allegations have triggered a nationwide reckoning in the United States over the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Cornell rape allegations renew push to change New York sexual assault law
• list 2 of 3‘I want the truth’: NY governor appoints prosecutor in Cornell rape case
• list 3 of 3Cornell president vows transparency amid outrage over fraternity rape case

But the case has also reignited efforts to reform laws in the state of New York.

While the left-leaning state has long presented itself as a leader in women’s rights, advocates say sexual assault survivors still face pervasive legal barriers when they seek justice.

Erica Vladimer, a lawyer and founding director of Harassment-Free New York, a survivor-led nonprofit, told Al Jazeera that much of the legislation currently in the spotlight is the culmination of years, if not decades, of work.

“These are bills that we have been fighting for for years when sexual violence is not in the news,” Vladimer said.

She drew a line between the #MeToo movement, which began in 2017 as an online campaign to denounce sexual misconduct, and the current wave of outrage following Doe’s allegations.

“It speaks to the fact that the #MeToo movement is not dead. It is a movement, not a moment,” Vladimer said.

Already, leaders in Albany, the state capital, have signalled they would take action following the Cornell case.

On Wednesday, the New York Assembly announced it had formed a working group to examine the state’s sexual-assault laws and develop recommendations for the 2027 legislative session.

Still, advocates say more concrete measures are needed to address the crisis.

“I appreciate that this work is happening,” said Lindsey Boylan, a New York City Council candidate. “It doesn’t undo the fact that rape culture is pervasive in the United States and very much so alive and well in New York.”

Boylan was the first woman to publicly accuse former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment in another high-profile misconduct case, back in 2020. She is among those calling for greater reform.

Here are some of the measures advocates are pushing state lawmakers to adopt or amend:

‘Voluntary intoxication’ statute

The Cornell University case has brought renewed attention to New York’s “voluntary intoxication” statute, a legal loophole that can make it harder to prosecute sexual assault when a person has willingly consumed alcohol or drugs.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul pledged on Friday to work with lawmakers to close the gap.

“It should not matter whether they chose to use drugs or alcohol. Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” Hochul said.

Under the current state law, a person who voluntarily drinks or takes drugs is not considered “mentally incapacitated” during an assault, even if they become too intoxicated to consent.

That can make it harder for prosecutors to bring a sex-crime charge. The law primarily recognises incapacitation in the context of sexual assault when a person was involuntarily intoxicated, unconscious or otherwise “physically helpless”.

That distinction has become central to the Cornell case. Doe has acknowledged that she consumed substances before the alleged rape, saying that she was pressured into drinking alcohol and taking the dissociative drug ketamine.

The Tompkins County district attorney initially declined to bring charges, pointing to the law’s stance on “voluntary intoxication”. But the investigation has since been reopened, amid public pressure.

New York is one of 19 states in the US that distinguish between “voluntary” and “involuntary” intoxication when it comes to determining consent in sexual violence cases.

But the Cornell case has spurred a push to remove the distinction from the law books. Critics have argued that sexual assault is no less grievous if a victim is drunk or has chosen to take drugs.

“I mean, to have New York, a supposedly progressive state, penalise people who are sexually abused for drinking is disgusting,” Boylan told Al Jazeera.

Vladimer, for her part, explained that distinguishing between “voluntary” and “involuntary” intoxication as a means for pursuing sexual assault cases shifts the focus onto the actions of victims, rather than perpetrators.

“We essentially have codified victim-blaming by saying if you become voluntarily intoxicated and then are sexually assaulted, you essentially cannot seek justice in our court system,” Vladimer told Al Jazeera.

In June, the New York state Senate unanimously passed a bill to allow sexual assault charges regardless of whether a victim is intoxicated voluntarily or involuntarily.

But the legislation has yet to be taken up in the state Assembly.

The rape-shield gap

New York’s rape-shield protections limit the use of evidence about a complainant’s sexual history and conduct in criminal proceedings. But those protections do not currently extend to civil cases.

This distinction could matter in the Cornell case because Doe filed a civil lawsuit.

Vladimer said questions about a survivor’s behaviour could come up in the discovery process of a civil case, as well as in court.

“There is the potential of her having to face questions about things like her sexual history,” Vladimer said.

Bridie Farrell, the director of victim rights advocacy and legislation at the law firm Weitz and Luxenberg, told Al Jazeera that she has seen major differences in how male and female survivors are questioned in civil cases where this practice is still permitted.

In one case involving a brother and sister who were both sexually assaulted, Farrell said the man was not questioned about his sexual history while the woman was “grilled on it”.

A bill sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger would extend rape-shield protections to civil proceedings. The measure passed the Senate in June and is currently before the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Retaliatory defamation lawsuits

Advocates are also pushing for legislation to prevent retaliatory defamation lawsuits.

Boylan said she has spent more than $2m defending herself in legal proceedings connected to her accusations against Cuomo, who stepped down as New York governor in 2021.

He has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing, despite a state attorney general’s report that concluded he “engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment”.

“Every step of the way, we have a system that penalises people for speaking up about their own harm,” Boylan said.

Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, a former aide who also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, are proponents of the Speak Your Truth Act, which would provide legal protections for people who publicly report sexual assault, harassment or discrimination.

The bill, sponsored by Assembly member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, would make certain communications about sexual assault, harassment or discrimination privileged when they are made without malice.

It would also allow survivors of sexual misconduct who successfully defend themselves against a defamation lawsuit to recover legal fees and costs. The bill remains in an Assembly committee.

A recent win, a long way to go

For Bridie Farrell, the victims’ rights advocate, the fight for legal change is personal.

Farrell was a 15-year-old competitive speed skater in 1997 when she said she was sexually abused by her 33-year-old teammate and mentor. She came forward with her story of abuse in 2013.

By then, the statute of limitations in her case had expired. Farrell later became an advocate for changes to New York’s laws, helping to pass the Child Victims Act in 2019 that extended the time available for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to pursue criminal and civil claims.

The law allowed Farrell to file her own case, which she did in 2020. She tells Al Jazeera that a trial has finally been scheduled for June 2027.

“Before we passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, New York was one of the worst in the country,” Farrell said of the situation for sexual assault survivors seeking justice.

Farrell considers the legal impediments to Doe’s case — like the “voluntary intoxication” statute — all too predictable. “I’m not surprised if we haven’t updated a law that is archaic,” she said.

Still, lawmakers have signalled willingness to reform such laws. In announcing the state Assembly’s working group on sexual-assault laws, Speaker Carl Heastie pledged to “thoughtfully” consider how the state can strengthen its laws.

“The allegations being reported out of Cornell University are truly horrifying,” Heastie said on Wednesday. “We want to do everything we can to ensure victims of sexual assault see justice served.”

But survivors and sexual violence advocates say the Cornell case points to problems that go beyond any single law. They hope to see widespread systemic and societal change.

“Changing legislation is incredibly important. But legislation in a lot of cases can only go [as far as] the paper that it’s written on,” Boylan said. “It would be amiss to orient this horrible, tragic, unacceptable, infuriating case in isolation without looking at the broader rape culture of our state and our country.” %!s()

Another prospective policy is replacing agreements designed to compel developers to fund community projects and services in areas they want to build.

Griffith will describe his approach as the "most ambitious deregulation project in a generation". Reform UK suggested the Tories were "copying our policies".

Griffith's speech comes after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch published a 100-page document, external explaining her guiding principles and how her party would act should it return to government by winning the next general election.

Following their historic defeat in the 2024 general election, the Conservatives have been trying to rebuild and convince voters that they can be trusted again.

The Tories have faced repeated attacks from their opponents for their record in government, including on the economy, between 2010 and 2024.

Griffith is expected to say: "No-one else is coming to save our economy. Only we can inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation."

He will accuse Prime Minister Andy Burnham of wanting to pursue a "socialist fever dream of the 1970s", adding the Tories want to deliver "cheaper homes, lower taxes, and less red tape".

Chancellor John Healey last week said all promises the government made would be "built on the rock of fiscal discipline" and the Budget on 28 October would "give families and businesses a bit of breathing space".

During a series of speeches on Monday, Conservative shadow ministers will continue to make their case and provide more details of their proposals.

This will include ditching environmental and energy efficiency regulations, including the future homes standard.

The Tories believe their changes could cut the cost of delivering a new home by up to £50,000, which in turn they expect could save money for buyers.

A single levy for developers would be implemented in place of section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which fund projects in the community when building plans are progressed.

The Conservatives argue this new charge would remove delays and improve how the funds are spent to the benefit of residents.

The party has been critical of the roles of Natural England and the Environment Agency in relation to house building and flood prevention work respectively, and wants to abolish both. Their functions would be looked after by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The Extended Packaging Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which requires firms to cover the cost of collecting, recycling and disposing of packaging it produces, would also be scrapped by the Conservatives.

The party believes this would help lift a "burden" from businesses and in turn could cut the cost of the weekly shop.

On Heathrow, Griffith is expected to say the next Conservative government would do "whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway".

Plans for expansion were scrapped by the Tory-led coalition government in 2010.

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves championed the runway to boost the economy after Labour won power, although Burnham has refused to say whether he backs the project since becoming prime minister.

Burnham has described it as "principally... a matter for London and Londoners".

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the Conservatives have "cemented their position as a pointless anti-growth anti-business party" by rejecting closer ties with Europe.

She added: "No-one can take anything the Conservatives say on the economy seriously given their litany of fantasy-land financial pledges."

Reform UK economy spokesman Robert Jenrick accused the Conservatives of "once again copying our policies".

He added the Tories were unable to match Reform's pledge to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000. %!s()

The League 3 Group B match ended in a 1-1 draw and, despite being played behind closed doors and on neutral ground, was once again played out in a confrontational manner.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4‘Everyone knew’: Canada boss Marsch wants Man City relegated for breaches
• list 2 of 4Cristiano Ronaldo can return to Portugal team if he wants, says Jesus
• list 3 of 4Man City whistleblower Pinto says he ‘received death threats’ over leaks
• list 4 of 4No handshakes and a delayed ceremony as India beat Pakistan at Asian Games

Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher stepped in as captain for Dara O’Shea, who was excused to be with his wife for the birth of their child, and pointedly avoided shaking hands with Israel captain Dor Peretz, despite completing the usual pre-match formality with the referee and one of his assistants.

Kelleher’s action was a repeat of O’Shea’s, who refused to shake Israel captain Manor Solomon’s hand before the first match in Debrecen, Hungary, last week. Ireland went on to win that game 3-0 through three first-half goals.

Solomon was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match in Backa Topola, Serbia. Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi was back in the squad after serving a suspension for getting sent off following his gun-simulation goal celebration during Israel’s 3-1 defeat to Austria on September 25.

Finn Azaz, whose mother has Israeli heritage, was among the Irish substitutes after playing from the start against Austria on Thursday.

Troy Parrott’s penalty in the 39th minute, after a foul by Peretz on Jimmy Dunne, gave Ireland a 1-0 halftime lead. A disagreement also broke out on the sidelines as the players made their way off the field for the interval, although the referee quickly intervened.

Peretz secured a point for Israel with a poked effort from close range in the 47th minute.

Sunday’s game was initially supposed to be played in Dublin, but the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) moved it to a neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June following widespread calls for a boycott in protest of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The FAI said the game would be played with no fans present.

It followed the FAI’s motion the previous November calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competitions.

All the Irish players had been under pressure from home – where affinity with Palestinians is strong – to boycott the second match against Israel, though the pressure was greater during the first game.

“I felt that pressure growing day by day, and it’s getting almost to a breaking limit now,” Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said at the time.

Ultimately, only reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu decided to skip both of the contentious games, saying in a statement that it was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong”.

More than 160 Irish sportspeople had signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the two games.

Before the departure for Hungary, people protested outside the team hotel in Dublin for the players to boycott the matches. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don’t play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.

Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games.

But the FAI argued UEFA could sanction the team. Ireland is cohosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.

Protesters threw tennis balls with Palestinian flags onto the field during Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria on Thursday. A man with a Palestinian flag also tried running onto the field.

On Saturday, an Israeli journalist stated during the pre-match news conference that the Irish players had called the Israeli players “monkeys” during last week’s game, leading to an immediate rebuke from Irish communications officer Kieran Crowley, who said it was “a lie” and ended the news conference.

The players had only decided to go ahead with the fixtures after a dramatic day in Debrecen before the first match, when both the news conference and training were delayed for hours while they deliberated. They reportedly voted 14-8 in favour of continuing after Bazunu’s withdrawal that morning.

Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ was only providing stripped-back coverage of both games against Israel to meet contractual obligations. There was no studio presentation, commentary on the international feed, or analysis. RTÉ said it was not accepting advertising or sponsorship around either game.

RTÉ also recently announced that Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year due to Israel’s participation. %!s()

A Pentagon spokesperson said: “While ⁠operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our ​assets and forces in ‌real time, we can acknowledge ‌now that all US bombers that were deployed to ‌RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States.”

At least 10 B-1 bombers of 12 flew out of Fairford on Sunday, including some that arrived on rotation less than a week ago, underlining the haste of the departure and the apparent significance given by the US to the threat.

There was no immediate comment from the UK Ministry of Defence, though the rapid pace of the withdrawal will heighten concerns in the area around the RAF base in Gloucestershire.

According to reporting by US media, the withdrawal appears to be in response to fresh or renewed security concerns about safety on the base.

A report in the New York Times said: “American officials on Sunday declined to specify the nature of the new information that prompted the rapid withdrawal of the Air Force bombers, some of which had just arrived in the past week as part of a normal rotation of forces.

“One US official said the new information was part of the same threat warnings that surfaced three weeks ago, but specific details and a sense of urgency spiked in the past 24 hours, alarming commanders.”

A dual British-Iranian national was arrested in central London last week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, following a security incident at RAF Fairford in late September. In total, six people have been taken into custody and then released on bail during the investigation.

British authorities have linked the incident to Tehran. Iran has denied involvement.

RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160km) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.

Its use in recent months came after then prime minister Keir Starmer granted Washington permission to use British bases for “defensive” strikes against Tehran.

The US military still maintains a sizeable presence in the Middle East. On Thursday, a US official said the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier as well as the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group – a group of ships that together carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines – were heading for the region. The official said the move could result in three carriers being in the region as early as the end of October. %!s()

The filmmaker, who was the first of two directors officially tied to Marvel Studios' now-canceled 1920s vampire movie, offered his honest thoughts about the project and even shared some new details about its story during an interview with Vulture. With a resume that includes films like 2012 documentary These Birds Walk, 2020's Mogul Mowgli, and last month's Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, it seemed Blade is the movie that hit Tariq the hardest.

"I didn't know which way north was," he said of his Blade exit. "Afterward, I had to kind of disconnect from everybody. I don't know if that was the right thing to do, but it was one of those things where I had to find myself again. When you're doing it at that level, and it doesn't work out, you're like, 'S**t, I feel like a failure, because I couldn't do the thing that I wanted to do well.' You're trying to recalibrate who you are.

"My wife, my children, and the Atlanta Muslim community really were there for me. They helped me reground myself and understand what it is that I really care about. They all knew me as the guy that's directing Blade. And it was like, 'Oh, he left? Snap, OK.' I was afraid they would always be asking about this or that, but nobody ever talked about it. We just moved on, and they didn't really care, and it was so great to be around people that just didn't give a s**t."

Tariq had a tough time, partially, he said, because the ideas he had for Blade were so cool. Although his involvement came to an end because "they wouldn't let me write the script, and life's too short to make really disastrous things," the director teased that the now-abandoned sets they had in New Orleans were "incredibly designed" and "beautiful."

He said the 1920s vampire movie was going to have "an incredible horse chase through" these sets that started "in a speakeasy where Blade would act drunk." The problem was the Marvel crew "didn't have all the pieces to really get it together, to be what it needed to be." Tariq recalled the work of production designer Stefania Cella and her team as one of the most heartbreaking parts of the film's cancellation.

"That's the part that breaks my heart the most, all of the craftsmen and craftswomen that were working on the thing," he explained. "But all that energy also needs to be put into good words on the page, and that's not a hit on any of the writers. The writers were working really hard. It was just – I think Kevin can admit it, too – he had a lot on his plate.

Marvel announced its Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot with Ali as its star all the way back in 2019, but as updates rolled in through the years, it only became more apparent that it would never come to be. It was finally, officially canceled in July of this year.

Feige has caught a lot of flak – some even self-inflicted – in the aftermath of Blade's cancellation. He called himself a "gigantic loser and failure" over its failure to launch just weeks before it was finally killed, with Ali going on to agree with Feige's assessment of himself. It's been painful to watch unfold, but Tariq doesn't hold the MCU orchestrator responsible for how everything went down.

The ex-Blade director spent chunk of his new interview calling the Marvel movie producer "adaptable," explaining that he "listens and f**king changes." Using Spider-Man: Brand New Day as an example, he said it's clear that Marvel Studios listens and makes shifts to make sure viewers "still got spectacle" while "building with story along the way."

Tariq called the wide web that is the MCU Feige's world, "and rightfully so."

"He's done such incredible films, and he's made massive amounts of money for Disney," he said. "Of course they're going to trust him over me, who had made just one film. I made a film. I made Mogul Mowgli with a budget of $1.2 million, and we built this massive set that was the equivalent of like, 10 Mogul Mowglis. So, of course, the last word should go to Kevin. It makes perfect sense. We just never really had a script."

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is out now and just so happens to star Ali as the lead. Blade may never step out of the shadows in the MCU, but the actor said he's still thankful for the free year of training it gave him for his new movie. As far as Tariq is concerned, he's hoping Feige finds time to see what he's capable of as a filmmaker.

"I want to be clear: I like Kevin," he added. "I'd love to talk to him if he sees it. He's a good dude. I really dislike all this s**t about like, 'Marvel fumbled this. F**k Kevin Feige.' No, man. He's got a lot on his plate, too much. And I think we also had this impossible task of trying to compete with the first superhero movie, which is Wesley Snipes' iconic Blade. It's really such a massive undertaking in a way that affected so many people."

Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe). %!s()