by staff contributor Camry Haskins
On Wednesday, September 16, GGP hosted a back-to-back film screening focused on issues of rape and sexual assault. The films, India’s Daughter and The Hunting Ground, both highlighted specific incidents of rape, while also discussing the societal problems surrounding sexual assault as a whole. The event ended with an open discussion of the documentaries, the issues they highlighted, and what still needs to be done. Panelists included: Barbara Miller, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Global Gender Program; Aisling Swaine, Professor of Practice in International Affairs; and Shweta Krishnan, PhD student in anthropology.
India’s Daughter is a film that came out after the 2012 rape and murder of a 23 year old medical student in Delhi. The film tells her story through interviews and news clips. The vast gender discrepancies are evident in the way that the sexual assault defense lawyers blatantly criminalize and demean the victim. Equating her choice to leave the house in the evening with a male friend to a spoiled flower left in the gutter. One of her convicted murderers in also interviewed and the nonchalant way that he describes the incident is chilling. His lack of remorse can be seen in his description of events and his belief that he is no different from many others.
Though the film highlights extreme gender discrimination in India, it also offers some hope for the future. As is often the case when a terrible event occurs, the first and most vocal protesters were students. Young men and women came together to protest the injustices experienced by Indian women. The educated, younger generation appears very ready to tackle the current injustices and work to strengthen India’s sense of equality. There is hope for a brighter future for Indian women, but it is clear that individuals and groups must remain diligent in their efforts.
The second film, The Hunting Ground, is a film of rape and sexual assault at colleges across the United States. Male and female survivors of sexual assault courageously told their stories. All of the stories share common traits, as can be assumed, but one similarity becomes glaringly obvious, and that is the reactions from the universities themselves. Student after student describe the ways that the their alma mater’s blamed and questioned their intentions with filing claims against their assailants. This sense of victim blaming has led the survivors themselves to bravely band together to address the problem.
Sexual Assault on college campuses has been receiving much more attention and scrutiny because of the determination and strength of survivors. Unfortunately that alone will not bring about the needed societal and structural adjustments to correct the blatant discrimination against survivors of sexual assault or the mentality that rape prevention targets potential victims rather than potential assailants.
There is a lot of work left to do to combat sexual violence around the globe. This is not just an issue for the developing world but one that is rampant in our own backyard. This issue affects our entire population and needs to be dealt with accordingly.
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