THG Fact Sheet for Australia F
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RECEPTION: TWO OF THE CASES: The film has been received extremely Florida State University student Erica positively in the US and around the world, Kinsman’s repeated accounts of her and in 2016 received nominations for an assault by a star quarterback have been Academy Award and an Emmy Award, remarkably consistent, and no single point and won the prestigious Stanley Kramer of her testimony has every been Producers Guild of America award. disproven. However, both Florida State and the Tallahassee police were found to ACCURACY: have mishandled their investigations. Everything in the film is accurate. The Three years after the assault, it was filmmakers fully stand behind Kinsman’s revealed in a deposition given by a and Willingham’s accounts of their university official that a second student assaults (see The Hunting Ground Facts), also reported that Winston had assaulted as well as the accounts of all the subjects her, and that the school had covered up in the film. The entire film has been that case as well. As a result, in 2016, rigorously fact checked, and is backed up Florida State settled with Kinsman in the by thousands of pages of documents and largest settlement ever paid out in a Title corroborating testimony. Additionally, IX claim pertaining to negligence in after a CNN broadcast and three-year responding to a student’s reported sexual international release, we have not assault. received a single defamation claim, nor has anyone ever asked us to make a Harvard Law student Kamilah correction. Willingham’s account was upheld by six investigative and adjudicative entities, RESEARCH: which all found that an assault had been Over the course of three years, the committed. The only entity that came to a filmmakers contacted more than one different finding, a group of 19 Harvard thousand survivors of college sexual Law professors and their associates, did assault, college administrators, so in a secretive hearing that was found to researchers, psychologists, law be illegal by the U.S. Department of enforcement personnel, statisticians, Education. As a result, Harvard Law was journalists and other experts, and forced to change its appeal process. conducted lengthy on camera interviews with 140 of them. They investigated more STATISTICS: than 100 campus sexual assault cases, Six national surveys, including those by reviewing tens of thousand of pages of the Washington Post, American court documents, depositions, expert Association of Universities, and US testimony, and police records. Department of Justice, have repeatedly found that more than 20% of women are sexually assaulted while in college. The only study that found a lower number, the The Hunting Ground Fact Sheet for Australia July 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey, has IMPACT: been critiqued extensively for its flawed The film has screened at the White House, methodology, and a 278-page study by Department of Justice, Office of Civil the US National Academies of Sciences Rights, Department of Education, the concluded that its college sexual assault National College Athletic Association statistics could not be presumed to be (NCAA), and in more than 2000 colleges, accurate. universities and high schools in all 50 states in the US. The film has helped OUTREACH FOR COMMENT: inspire the writing of more than fifteen The filmmakers reached out to all the pieces of legislation in the US Congress named college and university officials for and state legislatures. Days after the New comment prior to the film’s release. Two York governor screened the film for the university presidents were interviewed for legislature, it swiftly passed a the film, and thirty-five college or groundbreaking new bill to help stop university presidents declined to speak or sexual assaults on all New York college did not respond. campuses. Globally, the film has helped instigate campaigns in the UK, France The filmmakers also reached out for and Australia to combat sexual violence comment to all those accused in the film on campuses. The film team also prior to its release. The filmmakers produced a short film about college reached out for comment a total of five sexual violence based on the original times to Florida State University song by Lady Gaga featured in quarterback Jameis Winston, his agent, The Hunting Ground that has received and his attorney prior to the film’s release over 40 million views. and never received a response from any one of them. Kirby Dick Amy Ziering Director Producer The Hunting Ground Fact Sheet for Australia July 2017 .