These attacks often occurred in frat houses that one lawyer in the film described as “unlicensed bars.” One fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epilson, has such a bad reputation for sexual abuse that people on campus suggest its initials - SAE - should stand for “Sexual Assaults Expected.” Dozens are seen on camera telling their stories, most of which involved beatings, rapes and the administering of “roofies” and other substances to subdue victims prior to the assaults. Writer/director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering talked to hundreds of campus rape survivors, most of them women but some men as well. The Hunting Ground’s most unsettling finding is widespread institutional tolerance of campus rapists, because school administrators fear bad publicity and the loss of alumni cash endowments. This evil thrives in broad daylight at many academic institutions, Harvard and Yale and other Ivy League schools among them. (No Canadian statistics are provided, but the filmmakers heard anecdotal reports of similar situations in this country - such as the current rape-threat scandal in the dental school at Halifax’s Dalhousie University.) This is but one of many alarming statistics presented in this well-researched documentary, which tops any fictional chiller for shock value.Īnother appalling number is 100,000, the tally of assaults expected to happen during 2015 alone on the campuses of U.S. The women don’t know that upwards of 20 per cent of them, one in five, will be sexually assaulted during their post-secondary years.
![the hunting ground review the hunting ground review](https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hunting-ground-grab.png)
#The hunting ground review series#
Just like a horror movie, The Hunting Ground opens with unsuspecting victims.Īs “Pomp and Circumstance” plays on the soundtrack, a series of home videos shows women joyfully opening acceptance letters from colleges and universities. At primary schools, but we also felt that the university in Wageningen should offer more courses about gender.Documentary on sexual assaults on U.S. Education may be one of the starting points. We all agreed, also the man that was present, that men should be more involved in these discussions. We also saw that mainly women are attracted by these topics. The behaviour of male and female students that was showed in the documentary was shockingly normal to us. The documentary made us all think about our own experiences. They found out that they can use the federal civil rights law ‘Title IX’ about sexual discrimination in order to address the incidence of sexual assault.Īfter the documentary, we had a very nice discussion. Furthermore, we follow Annie and Andrea, also scarred by sexual assault, that are now activists and help others with similar experiences.
![the hunting ground review the hunting ground review](https://i0.wp.com/www.blogtorwho.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DWMR246_thehuntingground_1417.jpg)
In the documentary we hear many women and some men about their experience with sexual assault. They provide housing for students and bring forth loyal alumni that do generous donations. However, colleges and universities gain a lot from the fraternities. It also shows how at fraternities sexual aggression gets rewarded. Reports of sexual assault are a threat for that brand. In the documentary it is explained that universities want to score high on rankings and protect their ‘brand’.
![the hunting ground review the hunting ground review](https://consequence.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/the-hunting-ground-e1422286410932.jpg)
The procedure of filing for a complaint is very difficult. As one girl in the documentary said: ‘The rape was bad, but the way I was treated was worse’. The Hunting Ground is about sexual assault on college campuses in the United States and about the failed response of college administrators. In order to raise awareness about this and to make it easier to discuss these issues, the film screening was organised. Although many people think that gender inequality is no issue in the Netherlands anymore, they had heard multiple people that do not feel comfortable in Wageningen due to sexist atmospheres. The global platform A Little Braver approached OtherWise some weeks before with the question of organising this film screening together. The evening of 7 November a small group gathered at Thuis to watch the documentary The Hunting Ground.