The Hunting Ground Summary

The movie, The Hunting Ground, explains the statistics of sexual assault on college campuses with personal stories and lacking of response from many American universities. I understood prior to the documentary that sexual assault was terrifyingly common on college campuses around the country, but I did not realize the injustices and lack of acknowledgment done by the university and local communities.

The lack of justice for the victim truly bewildered me. First of all, the university feels as though it has to consider financial responsibilities before anything else. These financial responsibilities include keeping the assault out of the public eye in the interest of the university’s image, the effect on the amount of students interested

in the university, student-athletes, and wealthy contributors to the school. I understand that the university has many responsibilities but the safety of every student should be at the very top of the list. As soon as the assault is brought to the university’s attention, action should be underway immediately. If one student is assaulted, odds are many others have been as well and the effects of assault are devastating and destroy the victim emotionally, mentally, and physically. Not to mention, the identity of the rapist should not play a factor into the actions the university and communities does to get justice. For example, many assaults that are committed by student-athletes are either not dealt with or are dealt with only after the student’s sports season with minor punishments. Star-athletes bring in a lot of money for universities and the financial aspects are more important to the universities, rather than the well-being of the students. This is seen in the Jameis Winston case at Florida State University. A star football player was accused of sexual assault, yet the Tallahassee Police Department and the university did nothing for about ten months. When news finally broke about the sexual assault, the victim, Erica Kinsman, was harassed, threatened and eventually dropped out of FSU. People believed that she was making it up to hurt this Heisman- award winning quarterback. Despite the fact that there was video surveillance cameras from the bar that they met at, a cab driver that could speak out against him, his roommate that witnessed the assault, and another student that came forward accusing him of assault, he was unfortunately found innocent and went on to become a professional football player.
It is important to realize that not all sexual assaults on campus are done by student-athletes, which is unfortunately a huge assumption. There are many ways to avoid stigmatizing all college athletes. One way is by getting to know many different college athletes, if the school that someone decides to attend has sports teams. Getting to know these students can reveal that not all student athletes assault others, they can be good people. Also, another way to avoid stigmatizing student athletes is by researching how common is it for the perpetrator to be an average student.
Another false assumption made about sexual assault is that it is a women’s issue, when in fact, men are sexually assaulted as well. Society needs to change to realize this is an issue for all genders. I believe that more encouragement and opportunities for help need to be presented to male victims. Also, society must realize that people can not judge a man’s sexuality on the assault, which is a common misunderstanding that could lead his peers to believe rumors about him. Not to mention, it is not easy to fight off another human being, so the idea that men should be able to fight off other men is incredibly inaccurate and should be removed from society. If more men are comfortable to come forward after such a horrific experience, studies can be done and society can open its eyes to the unfortunate commonality of men that are sexually assaulted. In the documentary, The Hunting Ground, the men that came forward to talk about their assault were incredibly brave. This occurance of men that are sexually assaulted is not accepted in society and fighting against a societal belief is very difficult, especially one that is already very hard to discuss. I have great respect for the men that are able to speak out about this uncommon belief.
The documentary shows that sexual assault is incredibly common at fraternities, with 15% of insurance claims by the fraternities being for sexual assault, yet they continue to exist on college campuses for many reasons.

First of all, many donors to the university are fraternity alumni. The documentary even provides the statistic that “In 2013, nearly 60% of donations of over 100 million dollars made to universities came from fraternity alumni”. Removing of fraternities would tremendously decrease the donations coming into the university. Not to mention, colleges do not have to pay for the fraternities houses, which account for 1 out of 8 students on campus. This takes a large burden off of the college not having to supply housing for these students. To the university, the benefits of the fraternities outweigh the

disadvantages.
“Victim blaming” references the backlash the victim receives for speaking out about the situation. It often makes them feel bad about himself, guilty, or ashamed. The victim is blamed in many ways. One way is through the reaction of universities and questions like, “What were you wearing? Did you say no? How many times did you say no? How much did you have to drink?” These questions form blame on the victim, often silencing them and discouraging them to take further action. This disgusting blaming of the victim is shameful from the university. Someone who has endured a horrific experience that could do little to help himself/herself, can not be blamed. Not to mention, public humiliation puts blame on the victim. For example, in the documentary, in the Winston case, many students publicly harassed Erica, making her feel less than others, which is a form of shaming.
In sexual assault cases, there is a difference between calling the sufferer a victim versus a survivor. The term victim implies they are damaged and has a feeling of powerlessness attached to it. Victim makes the person seem weak and has a negative outlook. Survivor, on the other hand, shows strength and overcoming, which are two things the sufferer needs during this hard time. Survivor is a word to describe someone who has power and has a more positive outlook on the future of the person. I believe both words have power from the word choice, both make a person stop and think. I think a person starts out as a victim, trying to piece together what horrifically happened to them and when they are able to open up and hopefully get justice, they are a survivor.
Alcohol plays a huge part in many sexual assault cases. It is considered the #1 date rape drug and differs from the stereotypical date rape drugs because the person chooses to consume it, while other date rape drugs are often hidden in drinks, without the victim's knowledge.
A common situation in sexual assault charges is a “he said/she said” situation where it is one person's word against the other. In these situations, the police and anyone involved in the case have to widen the picture and look for evidence such as struggle in the location of where it happened, physical marks on skin, and other aspects that can help clarify the situation. It is very complicated in court.
When helping someone who has been sexually assaulted, it is important to take some precautions in advocacy.

Advocacy consists of taking a clear, health enhancing position, then support that position, show awareness, encourage others, and lastly demonstrate the conviction. An example of self-advocacy would be when I decided I was done living an unhealthy lifestyle. I attended the gym regularly and ate healthier. I positively changed mentally, emotionally, and physically. With my success, I advocated for others to go to the gym and be conscious of what they were consuming, and I believe I have inspired others. Many of my friends and my mom have started attending Planet Fitness and my mom focuses on fruits and vegetables in her diet. I was able to change my life completely and I hoped for the same success with others. One person can change the outcome of a situation entirely. For example, if one person were to step into any of the sexual assault cases from the documentary, the outcome would have be different. A friend, a bartender, a cab driver, a roommate, could have stopped the situation for any of the

victims.
After watching these documentaries, my eyes were opened to sexual assault and I now have a better understanding on precautions to make. The decision to be made is if I should take precautions to keep my friends and I safe. On one side, I will constantly have to be on my guard and have to bring my own drinks to many events. Not to mention, I will always have to be aware of where my friends are when we are out. On the other hand, I can avoid traumatic experiences, years of depressed/angry feelings, hospitalization, and death for myself and/or my friends. I will take the precautions to keep me and my friends safe. Some of these precautions may include watching my drink at all times, making sure I know what I am drinking, avoiding being alone with someone I don’t know, my friends knowing my location at all times, me knowing their location, and being clear with what I am feeling in all situations. I think this is the best decision because I can lower my chances of assault for myself and my friends.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It was a realization into the evils of society and allows me to take precautions in possible dangerous situations. I also know that if anything awful happens to someone I know that there are many different ways to receive justice and help. (1671)