Coming Events at Revolution Books

"Jane Doe," a former Cornell student filed a lawsuit last month alleging she was gang raped in 2024. The lawsuit is against Cornell University, 7 fraternity members, their Chi Phi fraternity, and others.  This sparked off society-wide outrage and controversy over sexual assault and how it is handled by authorities. Many women are sharing their "I am Jane Doe" stories, most for the first time. At Cornell, thousands of students, joined by some professors protested in support of "Jane Doe."

In the US, 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment or assault. 20% of university students are sexually assaulted. In most cases, universities cover it up, blame the women and give a slap on the wrist to the rapists. Nearly half (45.1%) of women have been subjected to some kind of sexual violence.

Big questions are sharply posed:

Why is this happening?  Why do institutions like Cornell University (and Cal), District Attorneys’ offices, and police departments across the country protect rapists and further victimize the victim?

What can be done to stop it? 

Is the problem men and human nature?

Is the answer harsher penalties from this system of “justice”?

Or are we confronting a male-supremacist system - capitalism – which can be overthrown?

You cannot break all the chains, except one. You cannot say you want to be free of exploitation and oppression, except you want to keep the oppression of women by men. You can’t say you want to liberate humanity yet keep one half of the people enslaved to the other half. The oppression of women is completely bound up with the division of society into masters and slaves, exploiters and exploited, and the ending of all such conditions is impossible without the complete liberation of women. All this is why women have a tremendous role to play not only in making revolution but in making sure there is all-the-way revolution. The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution.

BAsics 3:22 by Bob Avakian

Join with us to watch "A World of Rape and Sexual Assault" by Bob Avakian and an excerpt from the gripping documentary, It Happened Here (2014) which will be followed by a discussion.