Rape doc sobering study of sexual violence at university
Film explores the stories behind the horrific statistics of assault at college
THE HUNTING GROUND
★★★★
Starring: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Amy Herdy Directed by: Kirby Dick Running time: 90 minutes
Is it too much to say that institutions breed rape? The anecdotal evidence from prisons is so widespread it’s often played for laughs (see the upcoming Will Ferrell comedy Get Hard). The Catholic Church has been rocked by sex-abuse scandals. And in 2012 director Kirby Dick gave us the Oscar-nominated documentary The Invisible War, investigating the prevalence of rape within the U.S. military.
Dick turns his camera closer to home in The Hunting Ground, revealing a culture in U.S. universities that, if it doesn’t actually foster sex crimes, does little to bring perpetrators to justice. Time and again victims of rape tell the camera how they were silenced or ignored by the system.
One woman was asked to think of the rape she experienced as a football game, and to consider what she would have done differently. (Not sure what constitutes a “win” in this metaphor.) A male victim was counselled to drop out of school until the incident blew over. Perpetrators have been punished with warnings, minuscule fines or by being expelled upon graduation, which comedian Jon Stewart is seen pointing out is actually just graduation.
More than just a depressing exposé, however, The Hunting Ground documents the efforts of two victim/activists, Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, former students of the University of North Carolina, to bring institutions of higher learning to heel for their lack of action. Their Title IX complaint against UNC, which has since been expanded to almost 100 other schools, focuses on the federal right for education without sexual discrimination.
The statistics are damning, and even if you don’t buy into them fully, they’re half-damning. Various studies suggest that 16 to 20 per cent of female university students are assaulted, that close to 90 per cent don’t report the crimes, and that incidents of false reporting lie between two and eight per cent. Even if these numbers are off by a factor of two (i.e., half as bad as studies suggest) the problem is still huge.
Dick interviews numerous victims and advocates, though unfortunately he couldn’t get any heads of universities to sit down with him. He also finds unusual subjects, such as a convicted rapist who says university is an easy hunting ground, and an old news clip of a male student who jawdroppingly asks: Just because she said no and you had sex, are you automatically a rapist?
There are frightening similarities to these stories. Most start off with a woman talking about “a friend at the time” or “a guy who seemed nice” until he proved otherwise. One victim, assaulted after being plied with alcohol, says that she knew her attacker as a friend, and that if sex had been introduced into their relationship, “When I’m awake would have been a good time.”
If there is a technical issue with the film, it is Dick’s reliance, especially in the early going, on recreations; blurry shots of parties, close-ups of bathroom tiles, etc. This subject is powerful enough not to require embellishment. Talking heads are more than sufficient, given what they have to say.
Therefrightening similarities are to these stories. Most start off with a woman talking about ‘a friend at the time’ or ‘a guy who seemed nice.’