In a media culture in which, as Louise Armstrong argued, the feminist slogan вЂњthe personal is the politicalвЂќ is too easily transformed into: вЂњthe personal is the personalвЂќ, Dick and ZieringвЂ™s weaving together of many survivorsвЂ™ voices to tell the same story of abuse and institutional failure is refreshing. Feminist theory was built from the ground up, starting with womenвЂ™s experiences and thinking about what they had in common in order to build an understanding of shared oppression. WomenвЂ™s testimony has long been central to feminist theory and activism against male violence. The power of The Hunting Ground lies in the first-person testimonies. In the UK, this situation is not quite so stark, but as academics are increasingly expected to market themselves and their institutions at every turn, there is a danger that protecting the reputation of the brand becomes more important than protecting people. Yet The Hunting Ground chillingly reveals the extent to which, in a market economy where brand is everything and higher education funding is overly dependent on an old boy network of successful alumni, rape allegations are an exercise in reputation management. University campuses are not the only places where sexual harassment is an everyday occurrence, but given the relatively enclosed nature of university campuses вЂ“ combined with the focus on education вЂ“ they should be places where this institutional sexism can be effectively challenged. According to the authors of the report: вЂњThis kind of behaviour вЂ“ which includes groping, flashing and unwanted sexual comments вЂ“ has become almost вЂeverydayвЂ™ for some women students.вЂќ The NUSвЂ™s 2010 report Hidden Marks found that one in seven women had experienced a serious physical or sexual assault during their time as a student and 68% of students had experienced verbal or non-verbal harassment in and around their institution. Research by the UKвЂ™s National Union of Students suggests this is by no means a peculiarly American problem. In the military and on college campuses, the duo have uncovered an epidemic of sexual violence, primarily against women, exclusively perpetrated by men. Their previous film, The Invisible War, is an Emmy-award winning investigation into rape in the US military. Oscar nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering вЂ“ who are touring the UK with the film вЂ“ are no strangers to the topic of institutional sexism. It asks difficult questions about how women have been failed by image-conscious college authorities. The Hunting Ground focuses on rape and sexual assault on US campuses and gives voice to victims and survivors. A powerful documentary about rape is touring UK universities.

The hunting ground documentary online