Recent national reporting on allegations of sexual violence at Cornell University serves as a reminder that institutions have a responsibility to prevent sexual violence, protect and support survivors, and respond to allegations with care and accountability.

The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW) stands with survivors of sexual violence everywhere.

Survivors deserve to be heard, believed in their experiences, treated with dignity, and supported as they navigate systems that can often feel difficult and overwhelming. No survivor should have to carry the responsibility of changing an institution or culture alone.

The response surrounding this case also raises serious concerns about how institutions respond when survivors come forward. From CSVANW’s perspective, responses to sexual violence must be rooted in trauma-informed, survivor-centered practices and meaningful accountability from the very beginning.

When a survivor’s experience is minimized, dismissed, or met with systems that fail to recognize the complexities of trauma, institutions risk causing further harm and undermining trust.

Justice and accountability require more than responding after public attention is brought to a case. Institutions must have practices in place that prioritize survivor safety, dignity, informed choice, and access to support from the moment a disclosure or report is made.

Sexual violence does not exist in isolation. Prevention requires us to examine the environments, behaviors, policies, and systems that allow harm to occur or continue. Schools, governments, organizations, workplaces, and communities all have a responsibility to build cultures rooted in consent, respect, safety, and accountability.

For Native survivors, these conversations are especially important. Our communities continue to navigate unique barriers to safety, services, accountability, and justice. That is why culturally grounded, survivor-centered advocacy and prevention must remain at the center of this work.

As this case continues through the legal process, CSVANW remains committed to what guides our work every day: supporting survivors, strengthening prevention, challenging systems that perpetuate violence, and working toward communities where all our relatives can live free from violence.

We believe survivors.

We support survivors.

And together, we continue to break cycles of violence.