The Hunting Ground

It is such a relief to see a documentary about campus rape. Finally, this epidemic is out in the open and getting the publicity it needs. I am a survivor of sexual violence and I can tell you that rape on campus and rape in general is WAY more common than most people assume it is. For everyone discounting the 1 in 4 statistic, look at the raw data from rape crisis hotlines. They get THOUSANDS of calls per day. These are not all from pathological liars or women who woke up with regret after having sex with someone. In fact, only 2 - 10% of rape allegations are false, and there are false allegations for EVERY crime. However, in our American culture, we are much more likely to be skeptical about rape allegations, which is unfortunate because when a victim brings an allegation forward or even just tells a friend, being disbelieved re-traumatizes the person.

Someone else on here wrote that many women in their family have gone to college and none have been raped -- but that's not how statistics work. This person needs to take a statistics class. You can't choose any group of 4 women and expect to have exactly 1 rape survivor among them - depending on the particular group, none could be survivors or all four could be survivors.

I am so glad that many universities are being called out for their improper handling of sexual assault allegations. For those of you who believe universities shouldn't be involved and this should only be a police matter, in my opinion, this isn't practical. Even if a rape report turned into an investigation, an arrest, and a future prosecution, this takes YEARS. In the meantime, both the victim and the alleged rapist exist on the same university campus, perhaps even in the same dorm room! As a survivor I can tell you this would be extremely traumatizing and it would affect the victim's ability to continue their education. This violates Title IX, which is "a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding." Also, universities have sanctions for misconduct, which should also include sexual misconduct. Not all victims want to go to the police or are in a position to do so, and one of the worst things you can do to a victim of sexual assault is force them to go to the police (or not). They have already had their choices taken away from them when their own body was violated, so please don't take away their choice on how to handle their assault away from them as well.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1-in-5- college-study-raped_n_7293068.html

I've read 40-50 reviews that state the statistics in this documentary are wrong. Please go to the link I provided above. Huffington Post released an article a few weeks after Hunting Grounds premiered stating the statistics were "inflate". Well, a few months later they had to do this follow up article because low and behold, the statistics WERE (& are) CORRECT. Im glad this documentary is getting people to talk about rape & sexual assault. I was raped by my brothers best friend when I was 13 & he was 18. When i reported it to the police their first question was "What did you do to turn him on?"...Sadly, I am now 28 & if I was to ever get raped again I wouldn't report it. The police treating me like it was my fault was like getting raped all over again. I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy... The police wouldn't even talk about charging him with statutory rape, like I said I was 13 years old and he was 2 weeks away from his 19th birthday, so even if I had been okay and wanted to have sex I wasn't old enough to consent. Legally it was rape no matter what. IM SO GLAD, this doc sheds light on a problem that desperately needs to be fixed.

It is as easy as that. You have to watch this film. Everyone should watch it and then have a conversation of why this may be happening.

"The Hunting Ground" is a documentary about rape crimes in US colleges and how many of these stories get covered up for different reasons, including prestige, money or influence. It brings many of the victims and victims' families stories to the light, and a chance for them to be heard.

Even if it dedicates a fair amount of time to the "work" of the universities and the system in keeping these rapes silenced, this is not just a documentary on the reasons behind the cover-ups, but much more. It is the story of the victims and of how some of them have gotten together to try to stop the culture that protects the attackers from being persecuted.

The filmmakers do a very good job in explaining the situation and in giving all the victims a fair amount of time. The stories are balanced and all the factors are easily explained so the viewer can understand how it is these rapes are being, in the majority of cases, just plain ignored.

As said in the summary, this is one of those movies that everyone should watch.

This movie is very timely, yet long overdue.There is a culture on college campuses that have encouraged violent acts against women for a long time. The first hand testimonials drive home the horror some of these young women endured. The one cautionary tale is the testimony of the Winston accuser, as he was not charged, yet she is allowed to tell her story without being questioned or allowing Winston to speak. Her movie testimony was different from earlier versions of her story. In my opinion, her inclusion cheapens the movie and takes a way from the other powerful statements of violence against women on college campuses. It is almost as if the producers wanted to sensationalize the movie by using a well known incident to drive up interest. The subject matter alone speaks for itself. A must see for all incoming freshman women and their parents.

A documentary that digs deep into the toxic rape culture that exists on our country's college campuses, The Hunting Ground should be required viewing for any stakeholder involved in college life. In true documentary fashion, the film cuts right to the bones of the issue with such laser-beam precision that it reveals an entire web of corruption that is especially salient considering the rash of victim-shaming that emerges when this issue is brought before many political leaders. Perhaps the most shocking part of this story is the implication that (perhaps because of financial or personal pressures) the presidents of these colleges seem to value the health and safety of their athletic programs above those of their other students. This implication is exemplified with the film's brutally honest treatment of the accusations against Jameis Winston, the Florida State football quarterback who is entering the NFL draft this year. Though the bulk of the film focuses on articulating how colleges—we're talking the heavy hitters like Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley—spend more of their resources on covering up these allegations than actually punishing the perpetrators, the stories of the survivors and their efforts to gain national traction and support leaves the audience with the feeling that things are slowly changing for the better. --Alex Springer