Woman at centre of Cornell rape inquiry was 'failed' by officials, says New York governor

Speaking to CNN on Friday, her lawyer Thomas Giuffra said she is "not doing well"."She's under siege on social media, where people are trying to identify her; some false court postings, attempting to identify her," he said. Survivor and victim advocates say current state law on Sexual Assault makes it difficult for charges to be brought against perpetrators if the victim voluntarily took drugs or drank alcohol before the alleged assault took place.A bill to address what Hochul described as a legal loophole was already before the state legislature prior to this week's public outcry over how police and investigators handled the Cornell rape allegations. People who have voluntarily become intoxicated to the point that they are unable to give consent are currently not protected by New York's Rape Laws, says state assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who first sponsored legislation to close the loophole in 2019."The real bottom line is that right now if you are voluntarily intoxicated, you will not get justice," he tells BBC News. "Being voluntarily intoxicated, basically, is almost like giving somebody a get out of jail free card."Dinowitz says that around half of US states have already changed their laws to say it makes no difference whether intoxication is voluntarily or involuntarily in rape cases.