ASHE SCHOW: The other side of the campus sexual assault equation.
A recent documentary (I use the term liberally) called the “Hunting Ground” purports to be a “startling expose of sexual assault on U.S. campuses, institutional cover-ups and the brutal social toll on victims and their families.”
But the film, with the help of depressing and dramatic music, exposes only a one-sided view of the issue designed to tug at the heartstrings and make all sexual assault accusations look credible when not all are.
The center of the film revolves around the accusation by Erica Kinsman that Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston raped her in 2012 and that the school covered it up. Stuart Taylor, co-author of the book about the Duke Lacrosse rape hoax, wrote a detailed article for Real Clear Sports about the evidence that at the very least casts doubt on Kinsman’s story.
But the”Hunting Ground”never tells any side other than Kinsman’s, which has changed significantly since she first reported the alleged rape. The movie doesn’t attempt to present the other side of any of the detailed accusations outside of claiming schools wouldn’t respond to the filmmakers’ request.
An organization dedicated to stopping sexual assault and protecting due process rights for those accused, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, has some issues with the”Hunting Ground.”Mainly, the organization criticizes the film’s lack of attempt to “verify the accuracy of the accounts presented.”
In response to the”Hunting Ground,”SAVE produced a short video (complete with its own depressing music) in which Joshua Strange and his mother Allison tell the story of how he was expelled by Auburn University after being accused of sexual assault. Josh’s expulsion from his dream school occurred even though there wasn’t sufficient evidence for a grand jury to indict him.
The video is RapeHoax: The Joshua Strange Story.