This article discusses sexual violence and may be distressing to some readers.
Kingston residents gathered on Queen’s campus to protest sexual violence at universities and call for greater accountability and support for survivors.
The protest was initially planned as a response to the Cornell Seven case, but participants used the gathering to raise concerns about sexual violence on university campuses and the support available to survivors. The demonstration, held at the intersection of University Avenue and Union Street on Oct. 13, started at 11 a.m. and lasted around two hours.
The Cornell Seven case involves a former Cornell University student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, who filed a civil lawsuit in September alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024.
Kingston’s protest was organized by local resident Angela Maracle, who told The Journal that the demonstration’s purpose shifted as participants considered the experiences of women and girls in Kingston.
“We are all Jane Doe, not only because we empathize with her, but most women and girls have had some sort of sexual harassment episode or sexual abuse in their lives,” Maracle said. “We’re sisters. We’re a big group. We’re going to have each other’s backs and we’re going to stand together.”
According to Maracle, several community members expressed interest in attending a demonstration in the United States but were reluctant to travel across the border.
“I was just scrolling Facebook, and I saw a lot of people in the Kingston community talking about the Cornell seven case and Jane Doe,” Maracle said. “I said ‘let’s do it here.’ This time, this date, we’ll do it in solidarity.”
Approximately 25 demonstrators were present during much of the gathering, with attendance reaching around 40 people at its peak.
The protest isn’t the first instance of the case making it to campus, with multiple groups at Queen’s releasing public statements on the case.
READ MORE: University student groups respond to Cornell sexual assault allegations
Organizers also distributed flyers highlighting sexual violence statistics and resources available to survivors.
One flyer stated that 271 Queen’s students sought support for sexual harassment or sexual assault between May 2024 and April 2025, and that many incidents took place on campus.
According to Queen’s 2024-25 Annual Sexual Misconduct Violence Report, 233 of the 271 individuals who sought support from the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Services (SVPRS) were students. The report did not specify where the incidents took place.
The flyer also cited a study released in 2020 that ranked Queen’s second in Ontario for sexual harassment reports on a university campus.
For Deanna MacDonald, ArtSci ’86, the demonstration brought back memories of her own experiences with sexual violence. She said she was sexually assaulted on campus twice while attending Queen’s in the 1980s.
“Back in the day when I was here, there was no one to go to,” she said. “There was no one who would help you.”
MacDonald recalled an incident during her second year in which a man she met at the gym sexually assaulted her, adding “I never went to the gym again.”
MacDonald said she believes universities have failed to address sexual violence despite decades of public commitments.
“So that’s why I’m here today, because to me, it just feels like nothing has changed,” she said.
The protest also attracted younger residents concerned about safety on university campuses.
A student at a Kingston high school, who The Journal is not to naming to protect her privacy, disclosed she is a survivor of sexual assault. She said she believes these kinds of demonstrations are important for raising awareness and encouraging community participation.
“I think it means that we need our women to feel safe, that they can get their education and be able to walk back to their dorms,” she said.
Maracle said she hopes the protest’s message will extend further than this gathering.
“We’re going to do something, and we’re going to make a change,” she said.
— With files from Malek Benameur
Tags
Cornell 7, Protest, Sexual violence prevention
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