Suggested Links, Articles, Resources and Movies for Survivors
The Accused (1998) Warning: although this movie has a lot to offer, it is VERY graphic and triggering. This is one of the first movies that deals with the after effects of rape. A woman is gang raped by three men in a bar, with a group of men watching and cheering on the rapists as if it were a spectator sport. The rape is shown in graphic detail. She prosecutes her attackers. The rest of the movie is about her experiences with the justice system, and how rape victims were treated unfairly. It is as if she is the one on trial, not her attackers. Her sexual history is brought up and painfully examined. It is expressed that she was behaving promiscuously the night of the attack and therefore “asked for it”. The charge of rape is reduced to reckless endangerment which the survivor is infuriated about, but feels must be done in order to save her dignity in court (by stopping her character assassination). After the trial, she is harassed and physically attacked/endangered by one of the spectators to the rape. She decides to put the spectators on trial for encouraging her rape, which she is discouraged from doing. The film carries an important message about the injustices in the justice system and how survivors of rape are persecuted in the court room. It is worth a viewing simply to raise awareness of outmoded and unfair assumptions that are made about sexual assaults and the victims / survivors of sexual assault. Need more comments on this movie? Click here.
Calling the Ghosts (1996) An extraordinarily powerful documentary. The story of the systematic rapes and tortures undergone in a Serb concentration camp is told in a first person account. This movie is well worth watching because it draws attention to the callous atrocities that happen to women during times of war or civil unrest. It is empowering in the fact that these “ordinary” women use their experiences to demand justice and human rights for women. They successfully lobbied to have rape included into the international lexicon of war crimes by the UN Tribunal, located at the Hague. They turned a catastrophic personal event into an indispensable resource for those wishing to raise understanding and awareness of human rights abuses and violence against women. They remind us that our fight for equality and justice is not won yet, but that we each, as individuals, have it within us to become activists to make significant changes for the better in our world. Need more info about this movie? Click here.
Operation Fine Girl: Rape as a Weapon of War (2001) This movie documents the use of rape as a violent and brutal weapon of war. It’s happened in the past, and it is happening now. In particular, this movie focuses on rape as an act of war in Sierra Leone. These acts are recounted by the survivors, both women and girls. We hear accounts from child soldiers and the rapists themselves. Proceeds from the sale of this video go towards helping to heal the survivors both emotionally, physically and physically. There are over 500,000 survivors of rape currently in Sierra Leone. “Operation Fine Girl” is an intimate story about the tragic use of rape as a weapon of war told through the personal stories of three young girls who were abducted, taken to be “rebel wives,” sex slaves, domestic servants and combatants held for many years against their will; and one boy abducted to be a child combatant. WITNESS filmmakers worked with Binta Mansaray, traveling to war torn Sierra Leone to make the first and only documentary that reports extensively and exclusively on this hidden yet pervasive part of the war in Sierra Leone. The filmmakers also took the risk to travel to the headquarters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to get one of the first ever interviews with the perpetrators themselves, and the documentary includes their chilling denial of the crimes committed. “Operation Fine Girl” ultimately goes beyond the borders of Sierra Leone to offer a stark picture of how and why women and children are often the most victimized in wartime. The video has been instrumental in promoting a national dialogue for the long-term purpose of sensitization, reintegration, peace-building and reconciliation, and to keep rape as a weapon of war on the agenda as the country makes a transition to peace. To this end, policy makers on both the local and international level have seen the video, including four of the investigators of gender-based crimes and violations of child rights in Sierra Leone. Produced for WITNESS and Oxygen LLC by Academy Award nominee Lilibet Foster. ” ~ quotation taken from http://www.witness.org/ Need more info on this movie? Click here.
The Invisible War (2012) This documentary explores the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the United States Military. There are some moments that may be triggering. Need more info on this movie? Click here.
Islam and Feminism (1991) In 1989, a journalist investigated the rapes of three nurses in Pakistan. One of the nurses was jailed for the act, even though she was the victim. The perpetraitors were never arrested or tried for their attacks on these women. This movie provides an inside look into Pakistan’s Islamic law, which sees no difference between adultery, rape, or sex (fornication). The documentary discusses the extreme sexism and unfairness of these laws which abuse and even end the lives of women who are victims of sex crimes. It also chronicles the activism of groups such as the Women’s Action Forum and Sindihani Tahreeq, which are currently working to end the sever discrimination that many women suffer under Islamic law in many parts of the world. Need more info on this movie? Click here.
Rape Culture (1975 / 1983) This is an educational movie first produced in 1975 and revised in 1983. It explores the connections between rape fantasies, rape culture and the criminal act itself. It discusses sexism, violence against women and how they contribute to the unfortunately all too common act. Also discussed are movies, advertising, music and adult “entertainment” with insights on these given by sexual assault crises workers and prisoners working to end sexual assault in prison. Need more info on this movie? Click here.
Rape Is (year unknown) This short documentary examines what rape means and what the consequences of rape are from both a global and historical perspective. The film is mainly interested in the cultural conditioning that prohibits women, men and children from making rape the single most underreported crime in America. It brings awareness of what it costs us to be denied our most basic human right (to be in control of our own bodies). The film challenges the narrow, outmoded and outdated beliefs that still prevail regarding rape. Need more info about this movie? Click here.
Sentencing the Victim (2004) In 1988, a 19 year old woman was kidnapped, beaten up, tortured and brutally gang raped by five men. She bravely pressed charges and each attacker got 30 – 35 years in prison. Justice served? Think again. According to the law in her state, her perpetrators could go up for parole every year. In order for them not to make parole, someone must step in and voice why they should remain behind bars. Who is the only one that can do this? The rape survivor herself. This means that she must again face her attackers and go on “trial” every two years on five different dates for each of her attacker’s parole hearings for the next 30 – 35 years. In reality, she can never really move on. She can never lay the past to rest. She is forever re-victimised and on trial. This movie provides an emotional, upfront and honest look into the injustices in the “justice” system. Need more info on this movie? Click here.
Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women (1998) “Silence Broken shatters a half-century of silence for Korean women forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The women demand justice for the “crimes against humanity” committed against them, their compelling testimony is presented side by side with interviews of Japanese soldiers and recruiters. Some of their stories, portrayed in powerful dramatizations with their own voices flowing under stunning images, echo soulful sorrow and the amazing resilience of the human spirit.” ~ quoted from http://www.twotigers.org/film.htm Need more comments on this movie? Click here.
Things Behind the Sun (2001) This movie is about a young woman who was raped when she was a child and must deal with the aftermath. There are two rape scenes, (one rape happened to another character) both of which are filmed very realistically in terms of the actual physical action and her emotional / mental reactions to it. The rape is filmed in a non sexual but very violent way. A boy is also raped, which brings up the outdated question of whether males can be raped or not. The movie examines boy’s upbringing in a society that does not allow men to explore their feelings or to even examine the possibility that men can be raped themselves, except in prison. Society is examined in terms of perpetuating beliefs that people must not allow themselves to be put in situations in which rape can occur, as any sexual assault survivor can tell you that no one can predict when or where it will happen. We see the emotional turmoil of the rape survivor, and are allowed into her psyche to see and understand what she undergoes as a result of the attack. This movie is not afraid to deal with the ugly truths and long term effects of rape in an unglamourised manner. This is definitely not a pretty or easy film to watch, but is to be applauded for its realistic portrayal and for raising difficult questions that are usually left unasked by other movies. Need more comments on this movie? Click here.
The Vagina Monologues (year unknown) This usually publicly performed piece is gaining in popularity by the masses. Full of inspiring, uplifting and empowering comments, opinions and information about women’s bodies and women’s lives. Part of The Vagina Monologues is feminist perspectives on the common act of rape in war torn countries.
The Vienna Tribunal (1994) This documentary outlines why women’s rights need to be seen and considered as human rights. The video documents extreme injustices and acts of abuse and violence (including rape) that were done to women in the past as proof that something needs to be done. We see emotionally charged personal testimonies that were given at the Global Tribunal on Violations of Women’s Rights-held in conjunction with U.N. World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. This movie is very thought provoking and awareness raising. Need more info on this movie? Click here.
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Movies That Trigger Founder
Triggered By Media 