CNN’s New Rape Documentary Relies On Myths, Not Facts

Article here. Excerpt:

'“The Hunting Ground,” a newly released documentary about sexual assault on college campuses, is earning rave reviews, drawing the attention of D.C. lawmakers and could even have an effect on the upcoming NFL draft. Though currently showing in just a few theaters, it will reach reach a huge audience by the end of the year when it is shown on CNN. But the way the film handles sexual assault statistics and individual allegations of rape raises three crucial questions about whether the film warrants the effusive response it has garnered.

As its title suggests, “The Hunting Ground” presents America’s college campuses as hotbeds of sexual assault where predatory rapists can act with impunity because schools are unwilling to do anything to address the problem. The film’s strength is built on an almost overwhelming deluge of personal accounts by women (and a few men) who recount suffering violent rapes and then struggling to obtain justice.

Annie Clark, one of the central figures of the documentary, says she was told by an administrator that “rape is like a football game,” where she should think back on what she could have done differently to avoid the rape. Another girl, Lizzy Seeberg, is said to have killed herself after Notre Dame police moved too slowly in investigating her alleged rape at the hands of a football player.

A close watching of the film, however, shows that it relies on several questionable facts to make its case, and sometimes misleads the viewer in a way that calls the entire film’s legitimacy and reliability into question.'