The Hunting Grounds: A Film Analysis

The film I watched was called The Hunting Ground this film started off very interesting. It showed clips of students finding out for the first time they got accepted to the university of their choice. Most of the students screamed of shock and it was obvious they were thrilled. Then a couple girls get interviewed about their experience their first months at that school, almost all of them had the perfect grades and perfect lives. However, these interviews take a twist when many girls getting interviewed start telling the story of when they got raped, there was also about three guys that were victims of this too. The weird part of it all was that more than half of them got raped by a friend or someone they knew for a while. Many of the victims didn’t know how to handle what had happened to them. If they spoke to friends they could be judged, and speaking to their parents was even worse. After a while of keeping that secret in many decided to go talk to someone in their university office. In almost all of these cases, the person in the office starts questioning them about what they could of changed to avoid it etc. instead of helping them and taking care of this horrible problem. The people in the office ultimately say they will help, but several days pass and the victims don’t hear anything about them. The universities do it on purpose, the statistics show almost all universities never expel students for such thing. They do this to make their campus look safe and to not keep

The Hunting Ground (2015), explores sexual assaults on college campuses. The film shows many survivors conveying their experience with sexual assault and how their colleges or universities has handled their trauma. This film also shows the psychological toll sexual assault has on the survivor as well as their families. Additionally, the film presents how institutions cover it up and/or present a penalty that is not fit for the crime.

In the first critique of The Hunting Ground written by Robby Soave called “How The Hunting Ground Spreads Myths About Campus Rape,” Soave basically is trying to discredit the film and find ways to discredit the victims. Soave uses the fact that nineteen Harvard University professors have denounced the film, but of course they would because one of the main examples in the movie was a case that occurred at Harvard University. Soave also tried to say that the victims that were talked about in the two main cases in the movie had been faulty in their explanations of what happened on the night of the attacks. Soave also mentions the guy they showed in the movie who admitted to sexually assaulting someone and going to jail for six years, Soave says

“'Til it happens to you, you don't know” You won't know how it feels to be victimized, or what it’s like to have, what seems like, the world against you. The documentary, The Hunting Ground directed by Kirby Dick, gives a small look into the life and treatment of a rape or sexual assault victim on colleges campuses. Using anaphora, the rule of three, and imagery, The Hunting Ground makes it a little easier to understand exactly what is happening.

The theory behind this approach is to improve case outcomes for victims by giving them control back by eliminating as many barriers that cause victims to not want to report or to not stay engaged with the criminal justice process. First responding police officers have a difficult role in complex sexuall assault complaints. They are required to take reports from people who report crimes, write a report, gather evidence, interview witnesses and suspects and conduct follow-up. When reports from sexual assault victims are delay, have no evidence to produce, are unsure of a location, and change their story it brings skepticism to the investigative process. This is a difficult task if police officers use the traditional method law enforcement has historically used in sexual assault investigtions. This tradional method is an investigative process that suggests the victim is not credible in terms of their vulnerability of what they wore, how much they had to drink, whether they were a prostitute, changed their story, a lack of noticeable injuries, instead of investigating what the perpetrator did to make the victim less credible and vulnerable to the

Last week, the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completed the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it failed to encompass the central issues concerning the culture of sexual assault: societal misperceptions, the victims, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries; the culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions.

I am writing to you today out of concern for many students, specifically female Penn Staters. Sexual assault is something that is frequently occurs at every university, especially this one. “At Penn State’s campus alone, since the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, almost 30 sexual assaults have been reported to local and off-campus police departments” (Thomas par. 2). Penn State University has a rich history that dates all the way back to 1855, but that history has since been marred by the night life here in State College. Sexual assault is an extremely hot topic right now, especially after the new release of the featured film of 2015, “The Hunting Ground” directed by Kirby Dick. This film opened the eyes of the public to sexual assaults on college campuses and how frequent they really are. Dr. Barron, the number of sexual assaults at Penn State needs to decrease drastically and in order to do that we need to educate the students as much as possible, increase the number of on campus police officers, enhance the punishment for sexual assault crimes, and work closely with the town police as well.

“One in five college women, and one in 33 college men, will be sexually assaulted during their time on campus, adding up to an estimated 100,000 assaults for the coming year. But only 5% of these get reported. (The Hunting Ground).” With statistics like these, it’s easy to see why sexual assault is still a prevalent issue on college campuses. In the Movie, The Hunting Ground, the issue of sexual assault on college campuses is addressed. What set this documentary apart from other documentaries that address sexual assault was that it was from the views of the victims, as opposed to just covering statistics and generally talking about the issue. Aside from sexual assault, the other main topic covered was title IX, which is a program that is required

“I never realized that once I was labeled as a criminal, I had forfeited my right to be considered a victim,” says Elizabeth Reid at the end of an article she wrote describing her horrific experience as a resident at one of Washington Department of Corrections Work Release facilities (Reid 2013). Elizabeth was led to a secluded room of the facility where she was raped by one of the staff/ guards. She was forced to face the wall as he forcibly raped her. At first she did not report the rape because she feared that he would cause her to be sent back to prison. However, instead of telling someone inside the facility, she went to the local police to report the rape. To her amazement, the cops did not follow through because they were informed that she was on a form of supervised release. As a result, Elizabeth’s rapist was never charged or apprehended for her rape. Sexual misconduct between female inmates and male correctional officers (CO) has been a problem that

It’s time for the annual group cabin trip! Everyone had packed their bags and are ready to have some

Sexual assault is apparently a growing concern that has emotionally and physically affected many victims in the country. While most of them report the problem, they have a difficult time opening up and complying with the therapy sessions that can help gather enough information addressing the problem. Laurel is a good example of the victim who had suffered sexual

The Hunting Ground was a very emotional video that highlights a very important issue in our country that most people are not aware of. When it comes to sexual violence, college campuses are more focused on protecting the attacker rather than the victim. What shocked me the most in this film was that most of the faculty members the victims went to seek help from were females, yet the victims were still blamed for their rape. One administrator from UNC at Chapel Hill told a victim “rape is like a football game” meaning that if you look back to that day, what would you have done differently to prevent the rape. Victims who report rapes to university faculties are often questioned about the clothes they wore that day, how much alcohol they had to drink if they said no to the perpetrator, how many times did they said no, etc. Ryan Clifford, a male victim at the University of California, Davis rather than being helped, he was suggested by a faculty member to drop out of school until the situation “blows over.”

Within society, there is an engrained belief of what makes a person a legitimate victim and often their status as a ‘victim’ is questioned. This is especially true if the victim does not fit the typical stereotype of who is considered to be a legitimate victim. This is most widely illustrated in cases involving male victims of sexual assault.

The type of violence that is illustrated in the film “The Hunting Ground” is sexual violence. Sexual violence has a profound impact on physical and mental health. It can be directed against both men and women (Ch. 6 page 149). Sexual violence has been associated with a number of mental health and behavioral problems in adolescence and adulthood (Ch. 6 pg. 163). Its impact on mental health can be as serious as its physical impact, and may be equally long lasting. Deaths following sexual violence may be a result of suicide (Ch. 6 pg. 149). As evident in the film, David Lisak clinical psychologist… “several cases of college students who were victims of sexual assault suffer from

Deciding whether to notify police is not an easy decision for victims of crime, especially when it involves sexual violence. The determinants