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Movies, documentaries, and video clips related to Violence Against Women

| Adolescents / Teens | Awareness PSAs | Body Autonomy | Child Sexual Abuse | College/University | Consent | Documentaries | Domestic/Dating Violence (General) | Empathy | Engaging Men | Feminism | Media Literacy | Mobile App Demos | Movies (fictional) | Online Safety | Research on Prevention | Sexism, Rape Culture | Sexual Harassment | Spanish Language | Stalking | Title IX | Victim Blaming, Slut Shaming | Violence Against Women and Alcohol | Violence in Same Sex RelationshipsThe following movies, documentaries, and video clips may be useful for prevention education (for example, Bystander Intervention, Empathy, or Healthy Relationships). For music videos related to violence against women, see Songs related to Violence Against Women.

Also, see this selection of films from Media Education Foundation (MEF) about the the cultural forces that contribute to sexual violence

Adolescents / Teens

Bullying

Dating and Sexual Responsibility

DVD Series from SocialLearning.com. “This program is a well-researched, mini-curriculum, designed for high school health classes or small training groups. It can be readily adapted to any busy class schedule. The instruction incorporates role-playing and discussion to build awareness about coercive sexual behavior and how to prevent it. The series includes four units, which can be viewed together or separately.”

Northwest Media conducted a research study on this program. The series has four units:

  • Unit One: Coercion – What Is It?
  • Unit Two: Beliefs, Attitudes, and Expectations
  • Unit Three: Refusals and Responses
  • Unit Four: Virtual Date

Teen Dating Violence

Multi-topic miniseries, including sexual assault, LGBT issues, healthy relationships, and more

The Halls: “The Halls tells the stories of three young men in Boston, and their struggles sifting through relationships, trauma, masculinity and their own identities. Tension starts building in their worlds when rumors swirl around the school about an accused rape of a student.” 8 episodes between 9.5-17 minutes each, also available as one, 1.5-hour clip.

Dreamworlds 3 (Unabridged): Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video

From the Media Education Foundation: “Dreamworlds 3, the highly anticipated update of Sut Jhally’s groundbreaking Dreamworlds 2 (1995), examines the stories contemporary music videos tell about girls and women, and encourages viewers to consider how these narratives shape individual and cultural attitudes about sexuality. Illustrated with hundreds of up-to-date images, Dreamworlds 3 offers a unique and powerful tool for understanding both the continuing influence of music videos and how pop culture more generally filters the identities of young men and women through a dangerously narrow set of myths about sexuality and gender. In doing so, it inspires viewers to reflect critically on images that they might otherwise take for granted.”

In the Mix

made by PBS with Neve Campbell

Matters of Choice: Teen Dating Violence

Review from a PreventConnect user: The scenarios are realistic, the acting is good, it showed the gradual progression of a violent relationship & most importantly, it doesn’t present a happy ending with a nice a bow on it but instead leaves the situation unresolved which can lead to great post-video discussion.

No Means No, by J. Gary Mitchell Film Co.

Lisa is nearly raped by her boyfriend. When her dilemma is discovered by some older college friends, they help her to understand the importance of communicating expectations and sexual limits, and her right to postpone sexual involvement. Young men learn that it is not OK to be abusive to women and that there are serious consequences for such behavior.

Rape: Get the Facts

“This documentary-style program presents the legal, medical, psychological and sociological facts about rape. Doctors, judges, social workers, detectives, victims’ rights advocates, self-esteem experts, and rape survivors all contribute information, perspective, and analysis of this all-too-common crime. Among the compelling facts: an act of rape or sexual assault occurs in our nation nearly once every two minutes. More than half of all rape victims are under the age of 18. Most sexual assaults are NOT committed by strangers, but by someone whom the victim knows. This video explains that “date rape” is just as much a crime as other sexual assaults. Information is provided about the links between drugs, alcohol, and rape. Specific, practical guidelines for how to protect against rape and date rape are presented. Law enforcement professionals, medical personnel and psychologists take viewers on a step-by-step investigation of where, how and why rape occurs with the goal of informing viewers of the risks and providing strategies to avoid rape. Students will meet a woman whose unbelievable act of bravery put one rapist behind bars for good. And, a former NFL Quarterback now teaches young men a whole new set of attitudes about themselves and about their behavior towards women.”

Rape: Talk About It. Prevent It.

The Florida Department of Health created several television spots about sexual violence.

#Respect by Citizen U.

Short clip about healthy adolescent relationships.

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Awareness PSAs

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Body Autonomy

  • This is my body, partially about breast cancer, ~5 minutes
  • Fat talk, cereal commercial, ~2 minutes

THE PURITY MYTH: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women

This alternately hilarious and infuriating new film adaptation of pioneering feminist blogger Jessica Valenti’s bestselling book makes a powerful case that evangelical Christians, right-wing politicians, and conservative activists have been using irrational fears around young women’s sexuality to undermine women’s autonomy and roll back women’s rights. In a wide-ranging analysis that moves from ‘purity balls’ and the abstinence movement to right-wing attacks on Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive health care, Valenti targets the persistent patriarchal assumption that men know what’s best for women — and that a woman’s worth depends on what she does, or does not do, sexually.

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Child Sexual Abuse

The Children We Sacrifice

By Grace Poore, Shakti Productions. This film “is a moving validation of women who confront different levels of shaming and secrecy around a deeply camouflaged issue. It celebrates survivors of incest who defy social pressure and make visible the ways in which families prioritize family harmony, honor and duty over accountability and pursuit of justice for victims.”

Searching for Angela Shelton

A documentary by filmmaker Angela Shelton, where she drives around the U.S. looking for others with her name. She learns that 24 out of 40 Angela Sheltons are survivors of rape, incest, sexual abuse, or domestic violence. After the movie was completed, four other women broke their silence and came forward, bringing the total to 28.

Sexual Misconduct: What all School Staff Need to Know and Do

By the Seattle School District. The video was awarded a Silver Telly Award in the Safety category. “Sexual Misconduct: What all School Staff Need to Know and Do” deals with the difficult issue of sexual abuse in the school setting. It was created with funding that requires it eventually is made available to other school districts nationally.

Promise Video: Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse

Developed to provide information about the impact of child sexual abuse, to emphasize the importance of including parents/caretakers in treatment, and to highlight the need for children in therapy to learn specific skills to deal with what has happened to them and to talk about the details of their sexually abusive experiences. The Promise Video is targeted primarily to individuals who refer sexually abused children to therapists. It is also useful for parents and caretakers of sexually abused children and therapists who treat sexually abused children.

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College/University

Bystander Intervention

The Hunting Ground

2015. Documentary. “From the team behind THE INVISIBLE WAR, comes a startling exposé of sexual assault on U.S. campuses, institutional cover-ups and the brutal social toll on victims and their families. Weaving together verité footage and first-person testimonies, the film follows survivors as they pursue their education while fighting for justice — despite harsh retaliation, harassment and pushback at every level.” 90 minutes.

It Happened Here

2015. Documentary. “[F]rom director Lisa F. Jackson and producer Marjorie Schwartz Nielsen, explores sexual assault on campuses through the personal testimonials of five survivors who transform their experiences into a springboard for change. In raw and intimate interviews, the students describe surviving sexual assault only to be met with apathy, disbelief, blame and retaliation from the authorities when they tried to report the crime. When they tried to get justice, they were ignored, belittled and shamed, while their attackers remained on campus with impunity. But instead of hiding away in shame, they chose to speak out, and found a way to force institutional change.”

Dating Violence

No Zebras: No Excuses

A video of the program developed by Steven Thompson

Undetected Rapist

A short video reenacting segments of an interview by David Lisak

How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivor: What Men Can Do

A video used in the One in Four program describing a male-on-male rape situation.

Playing the Game 2

A remake of the film, Playing the Game 2 explores the issue of sexual assault and date rape. Written and produced by Dr. Robin Sawyer, an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health.

Rape Is…

A 30 minute video that includes a discussion guide. Link to Discussion Guide / Link to Rape Is… web site / Link to Video Order Information

The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men

Filmmaker Thomas Keith, a professor of philosophy at California State University, Long Beach, provides an engrossing look at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women. Breaking down a range of contemporary media forms targeted explicitly at young men, Keith teases out the main maxims of “bro culture” and “the bro code,” and examines how this seemingly ironic mentality reinforces misogyny and gender violence in the real world.

UNDERSTANDING HOOKUP CULTURE: What’s Really Happening on College Campuses

According to a wave of recent new reports and high-profile books, “hookup” culture is in the process of replacing traditional dating on college campuses — radically altering how young people think about intimacy and sex, and liberating young women from patriarchal rituals and norms. But for anyone looking to get a handle on these allegedly transformative changes, there’s been little beyond speculation and anecdotal evidence. This presentation by Stanford University’s Paula England, a leading researcher in the sociology of gender, clarifies the issue.

SEXUAL ASSAULT: Naming the Unnamed Conspirator

In this provocative presentation, Anne Munch, a career prosecutor and advocate for victims of gender violence, examines how cultural attitudes shape the outcomes of rape and sexual assault cases. Drawing on years of experience prosecuting sex crimes, Munch shows how rape cases often turn on the involvement of an “unnamed conspirator” — the complex of myths and stories we tell ourselves as a culture about sex, gender, power, and responsibility.

Spitting Game: The College Hookup Culture

Filmmaker Denice Ann Evans draws heavily on the voices of students in this powerful and timely exploration of hookup culture on college campuses. Supplementing student testimony with analysis from experts and health professionals, the film’s main concern is whether hookup culture is offering young people a new and potentially liberating set of sexual rules, or whether it’s simply reinforcing traditional gender roles and blurring the line between consent and coercion.

The Line(2009)

A one night stand far from home goes terribly wrong. As the filmmaker unravels her experience, she decides to confront her attacker. Told through a “sex-positive” lens, The Line is a 24 minute documentary about a young woman – the filmmaker- who is raped, but her story isn’t cut and dry. Not a “perfect victim,” the filmmaker confronts her attacker, recording the conversation with a hidden camera. Sex workers, survivors and activists discuss justice, accountability and today’s “rape culture.” The film asks the question: where is the line defining consent? Shown in film festivals around the world, The Line was released in September 2009, and is a top selling film with educational distributor, the Media Education Foundation.

“NO! The Rape Documentary”

A groundbreaking documentary about sexual assault in the Black community. This feature-length internationally acclaimed, award-winning documentary explores the international realities of rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, activism and cultural work of African-Americans. The film is being used globally in grassroots and mainstream movements to end rape, sexual assault, and other forms of violence against women.

Asking For It: The Ethics & Erotics of Sexual Consent

From the Media Education Foundation: “The line between sexual consent and sexual coercion is not always as clear as it seems — and according to Harry Brod, this is exactly why we should approach our sexual interactions with great care. Brod, a professor of philosophy and leader in the pro-feminist men’s movement, offers a unique take on the problem of sexual assault, one that complicates the issue even as it clarifies the bottom-line principle that consent must always be explicitly granted, never simply assumed. In a nonthreatening, non-hectoring discussion that ranges from the meanings of “yes” and “no” to the indeterminacy of silence to the way alcohol affects our ethical responsibilities, Brod challenges young people to envision a model of sexual interaction that is most erotic precisely when it is most thoughtful and empathetic. Ideal for classes in gender studies, communication, and sociology, and especially useful for extracurricular programs and workshops.”

Date Rape Backlash: Media & the Denial of Rape

From the Media Education Foundation: “How did date rape shift from a “shockingly frequent… outrage,” as Newsweek once called it, to a controversy over “crying rape,” as New York magazine later labeled it? Susan Faludi, bell hooks, Mary Koss, Katha Pollitt, Neil Malamuth, and others, analyze a classical case study in media “backlash.” By the early 1990s, solid research and overwhelming evidence had prompted a growing awareness of the epidemic nature of date rape, especially on college campuses. But, starting in 1993, the media used the anecdotal comments of one young woman, Katie Roiphe, to undermine efforts to stop this continuing crime against women. How did this happen? Academy Award Winning- screenwriter Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise) hosts a lively discussion by researchers, journalists, and authors.”

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Consent

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Documentaries

  • Miss Representation, ~1.5 hours: Award-winning documentary about media representation of girls and women, sexual objectification, and gender socialization. “…the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself… In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.”
  • The Mask You Live In, ~75 minutes: From the director of Miss Representation. Messages about gender socialization and how it harms boys. “Compared to girls, research shows that boys in the U.S. are more likely to be diagnosed with a behavior disorder, prescribed stimulant medications, fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives. The Mask You Live In asks: As a society, how are we failing our boys?”
    Telling Amy’s Story, ~1 hour: “This two-part special opens with “Telling Amy’s Story”, a documentary that chronicles the time leading up to the death of Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two who was shot and killed by her husband on November 8, 2001. In the second part of the special, Virginia Currents host May-Lily Lee talks with domestic violence awareness advocates from around Virginia to discuss how to prevent and help those who are in a domestic violence situation.”
  • Healing Need, 1 hour: “After surviving a childhood of abuse and neglect, Tonier “Neen” Cain lived on the streets for two nightmarish decades, where she endured unrelenting violence, hunger and despair while racking up 66 criminal convictions related to her addiction. Incarcerated and pregnant in 2004, treatment for her lifetime of trauma offered her a way out… and up. Her story illustrates the consequences that untreated trauma has on individuals and society at-large, including mental health problems, addiction, homelessness and incarceration. Today, she is a nationally renowned speaker and educator on the devastation of trauma and the hope of recovery.”
  • Leslie Morgan Steiner: Why domestic violence victims don’t leave, 16 minutes: “Leslie Morgan Steiner was in “crazy love” — that is, madly in love with a man who routinely abused her and threatened her life. Steiner tells the dark story of her relationship, correcting misconceptions many people hold about victims of domestic violence, and explaining how we can all help break the silence.”
  • Domestic Violence: Living in Fear, ~1 hour: “The number of incidents and severity of domestic violence has been a public safety crisis in Tennessee for a decade, and the staggering statistics show there is no typical victim. Tennessee ranks third in the nation for the number of women killed by men, and more than half of the reported violent crimes in the state are related to domestic violence. In “NPT Reports Domestic Violence: Living in Fear,” we learn about the survivors, the perpetrators, and the witnesses to these criminal acts of violence.”
  • The Invisible War: From Oscar®- and Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Rated; Twist of Faith) comes The Invisible War, a groundbreaking investigative documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem-today, a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The Department of Defense estimates there were a staggering 19,000 violent sex crimes in the military in 2010. The Invisible War exposes the epidemic, breaking open one of the most under-reported stories of our generation, to the nation and the world.
  • SEXT UP KIDS: How Children are Becoming Hypersexualized: The powder keg that is porn culture has exploded in the lives of North American children. From thongs and padded bras for 9-year-old girls to “sexting,” 24-7 internet porn, and unfiltered social media, kids today are bombarded with commercial sexual appeals like never before. In this astonishing new documentary, award-winning documentary filmmaker Maureen Palmer (Leaving Bountiful, How to Divorce and Not Wreck the Kids) explores what this radical transformation of the culture means for young people, parents, and our very notions of childhood.
  • Boys To Men? A Film by Frederick Marx: Filmmaker Frederick Marx’s powerful follow-up to his critically acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams continues his extraordinary exploration of the lives of boys and young men. Concerned once again with the distance between boys’ dreams and the limits of reality, Marx focuses on a group of teenagers from a range of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds as they navigate troubled lives and shifting ideals of manhood. The result is an intimate and accessible snapshot of the deeper crisis in American masculinity. The DVD includes three additional pieces that focus on one boy at a time.
  • THE PURITY MYTH: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women: This alternately hilarious and infuriating new film adaptation of pioneering feminist blogger Jessica Valenti’s bestselling book makes a powerful case that evangelical Christians, right-wing politicians, and conservative activists have been using irrational fears around young women’s sexuality to undermine women’s autonomy and roll back women’s rights. In a wide-ranging analysis that moves from ‘purity balls’ and the abstinence movement to right-wing attacks on Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive health care, Valenti targets the persistent patriarchal assumption that men know what’s best for women — and that a woman’s worth depends on what she does, or does not do, sexually.
  • Anita: Speaking Truth to Power: “Anita Hill’s graphic testimony was a turning point for gender equality in the U.S. and ignited a political firestorm about sexual misconduct and power in the workplace that resonates still today. She has become an American icon, empowering millions of women and men around the world to stand up for equality and justice. Against a backdrop of sex, politics, and race, ANITA reveals the intimate story of a woman who spoke truth to power. Directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Freida Mock, the film is both a celebration of Anita Hill’s legacy and a rare glimpse into her private life with friends and family, many of whom were by her side that fateful day 20 years ago.”

Others

  • Against My Will, directed by Ayfer Ergun (First Run/Icarus Films)
  • Awful Normal, directed by Celesta Davis (Cinequest)
  • Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids, directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman
  • The Brandon Teena Story, directed by Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir
  • Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, directed by Petr Lom
  • Crimes of Honour, directed by Shelley Saywell
  • Cruel and Unusual, directed by Janet Baus, Dan Hunt, and Reid WIlliams
  • Defending Our Lives, directed by Margaret Lazarus
  • Deliver us from Evil, directed by Amy Berg
  • Domestic Violence, directed by Frederick Wiseman
  • Dreamworlds, directed by Sut Jhally
  • Game Over: Gender, Race, and Violence in Video Games (Media Education Foundation)
  • Gift of a Girl, directed by Jo Smith and Mayyasa Al-Malazi
  • Hidden Victims: Children of Domestic Violence (2000)
  • House on Fire, directed by Diane Best
  • Human Touch: Pain and Power, directed by Vejan Lee Smith
  • Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women, The Media Education Foundation
  • Murderer or Murdered, directed by Mahvash Sheikholeslami
  • No! The Documentary, directed by Aishah Shahidah Simmons
  • Rape Is…, directed by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich
  • Rape Stories, directed by Margie Strosser
  • Searching for Angela Shelton, directed by Angela Shelton
  • Senorita Extraviada, Missing Young Woman, directed by Lourdes Portillo
  • Sentencing the Victim, directed by Liz Oakley and Joanna Katz
  • Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies, and Alcohol, Media Education Foundation
  • Taking on the Boys’ Club, ABC News (Films for the Humanities and Sciences)
  • The Children We Sacrifice, directed by Grace Poore
  • The Day I Will Never Forget, directed by Kim Longinotto
  • The Girl Next Door, directed by Christine Fugate
  • The Healing Years, directed by Kathy Barbini
  • The Pornography of Everyday Life, directed by Jane Caputi
  • The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality, & Relationships, directed by Miguel Picker and Chyng Sun
  • Tough Guise, directed by Sut Jhally
  • Use Your Strength: Mobilizing Young Men to Prevent Sexual and Dating Violence, directed by Jane Pittman
  • War Zone, directed by Maggie Hadleigh-West
  • When Women Kill, directed by Barbara Doran

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Domestic/Dating Violence (General)

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Empathy

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Engaging Men

Real Talk: Engaging Young Men as Allies to End Violence Against Women

From Beyond Media: “The young women’s action team asks young and adult men to reflect on issues of violence, including street harassment, relationship violence, the media and how to build the movement to stop violence against women. Using poetry, dance and interviews, this video speaks to youth who want to confront violence in their communities.

TOUGH GUISE 2: Violence, Manhood & American Culture

In this highly anticipated update of the influential and widely acclaimed Tough Guise, pioneering anti-violence educator and cultural theorist Jackson Katz argues that the ongoing epidemic of men’s violence in America is rooted in our inability as a society to move beyond outmoded ideals of manhood. In a sweeping analysis that cuts across racial, ethnic, and class lines, Katz examines mass shootings, day-to-day gun violence, violence against women, bullying, gay-bashing, and American militarism against the backdrop of a culture that has normalized violent and regressive forms of masculinity in the face of challenges to traditional male power and authority.

A Call to Men, Tony Porter

“A CALL TO MEN is a leading national violence prevention organization providing training and education for men, boys and communities. Our aim is to shift social norms that negatively impact our culture and promote a more healthy and respectful definition of manhood. We believe that preventing domestic and sexual violence is primarily the responsibility of men. Although historically it has been almost entirely women who have been at the forefront addressing this issue, we think it is essential that men play a primary role in the solution. To do that, well-meaning men…men who, for the most part don’t see themselves as part of the problem…need to get involved. Our vision is to shift social norms that define manhood in our culture and create a world where women and girls are valued and safe.” 1 hour talk, TED talk, ~13 minutes

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Feminism

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Media Literacy

Respect Me, Don’t Media Me

Was produced in a workshop with Sisters Empowering Sisters, a program of Girl’s Best Friend. The movie examines the portrayal of young women in music videos and other media. It also asks the questions: what does this kind of portrayal mean for young women? How does it affect our lives, our decisions, our relationships? And what can we do to change it? (30 minutes)

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

By Byron Hurt, takes an in-depth look at masculinity and manhood in rap and hip-hop, where creative genius collides with misogyny, violence and homophobia, exposing the complex intersections of culture and commerce.”

Miss Representation, ~1.5 hours

Award-winning documentary about media representation of girls and women, sexual objectification, and gender socialization. “…the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself… In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.”

WRESTLING WITH MANHOOD: Boys, Bullying & Battering

Wrestling with Manhood is the first educational program to pay attention to the enormous popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence and probing the social values that sustain it as a powerful cultural force. Richly illustrating their analysis with numerous examples, Sut Jhally and Jackson Katz – the award-winning creators of the videos Dreamworlds and Tough Guise, respectively – offer a new way to think about the enduring problems of men’s violence against women and bullying in our schools.

GENERATION M: Misogyny in Media & Culture

Despite the achievements of the women’s movement over the past four decades, misogyny remains a persistent force in American culture. In this important documentary, Thomas Keith, professor of philosophy at California State University-Long Beach, looks specifically at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and hateful attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the very heart of our popular culture.

KILLING US SOFTLY 4: Advertising’s Image of Women

This highly anticipated update of Jean Kilbourne’s influential and award-winning Killing Us Softly series, the first in more than a decade, takes a fresh look at American advertising and discovers that the more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same. Breaking down a staggering range of more than 160 print and television ads, Kilbourne uncovers a steady stream of sexist and misogynistic images and messages, laying bare a world of frighteningly thin women in positions of passivity, and a restrictive code of femininity that works to undermine girls and women in the real world. At once provocative and inspiring, Killing Us Softly 4 stands to challenge yet another generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, gender violence, and contemporary politics.

PRICE OF PLEASURE: Pornography, Sexuality & Relationships

Once relegated to the margins of society, pornography has emerged as one of the most visible and profitable sectors of the cultural industries, assuming an unprecedented role in the mainstream of our popular culture at the same time that its content has become more extreme and harsh, more overtly sexist and racist. This eye-opening and disturbing film tackles the complexity behind this seeming paradox, placing the voices of critics, producers, and performers alongside the observations of men and women as they candidly discuss the role pornography has played in shaping their sexual imaginations and relationships.

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Mobile App Demos

Not Your Baby App

Report sexual harassment location and content, and read or submit possible responses to harassment.

Circle of 6

Sends automated messages to 6 designated contacts requesting that they intervene in various ways to help prevent violence.

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Movies (fictional) Reviving Ophelia (2010), 92 minutes, not rated
In “Reviving Ophelia,” sisters Marie (Jane Kaczmarek) and Le Ann (Kim Dickens) have always leaned on one another through life’s challenges, but discover they need each other more than ever as they navigate the complexities of understanding and raising their teen daughters. Marie’s 17-year-old Elizabeth (Rebecca Williams) has the picture-perfect life, with a seemingly equally wonderful boyfriend. Meanwhile, Le Ann is raising 16-year-old Kelli (Carleigh Beverly) as a single parent and finds it difficult to relate to the pressures her daughter is facing with boys, friends and school. When Kelli starts to suspect Elizabeth may be abused by her boyfriend (Nick Thurston), no one will believe her. But when Elizabeth lands in the hospital, Kelli’s surprising insights help Marie give Elizabeth the courage to leave her violent relationship.”

The Burning Bed (1984), 95 minutes, not rated
“An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there’s not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.”

Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), 99 minutes, rated R
“A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.”

Enough (2002), 115 minutes, rated PG-13
“On the run from an abusive husband, a young mother begins to train herself to fight back.”

Speak (2004), 89 minutes, rated PG-13
“After a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak.”

North Country (2005), 126 minutes, rated R
“A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States — Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.”

Mysterious Skin (2004), 105 minutes, not rated
“Mysterious Skin tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who are sexually abused by their baseball coach, and how it affects their lives in different ways into their young adulthood. One boy becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous male prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.”

Little Miss Sunshine (2006), 101 minutes, rated R, Chapter 6, A La Mode
A dad makes offensive comments to his daughter about how ice cream isn’t something a ‘winning’ beauty contestant can eat. Her other family members use various forms of subtle bystander techniques to resolve the situation. Useful for showing students that bystander intervention doesn’t have to be that difficult, and doesn’t necessarily require great risk.

Mean Girls (2004), 97 minutes, rated PG-13
Active bystanders who are Friends with the Perpetrator, and how that helps the perpetrator become a better person. This is an important lesson for students to learn, because research shows that the ‘henchmen’ or friends of a perpetrator have the most influence over her/him, and therefore the most power to make change through bystander intervention. If we’re trying to reach those people, we must convince them that part of being loyal to that person is helping her/him see that her/his current behavior is not right. Please share clips from films that show someone getting turned in or found out, and the positive results – otherwise, clips that show a friend calling out another friend and helping her/him change her/his ways.

Easy A (2010), 92 minutes, rated PG-13
Generally, few positive clips to work with from this film. However, toward the end, there is a fantastic scene with the main actress in the car with a guy who has rescued her from an attempted sexual assault situation. He is a good friend of hers, and is also a ‘cool guy’ that teens admire. He doesn’t just kiss her, but instead asks if he can kiss her. She says, “no”, and he handles it very well (great for them to see someone handle rejection well). Then she also clarifies that she wants to, but at a better time (so the kids can see that rejection isn’t always so bad).

For Colored Girls (2010), 133 minutes, rated R
“Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.” Yasmine’s monologue in the ED after being sexually assaulted is very powerful.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010), 101 minutes, rated PG-13
The main characters form a couple at the end of the film, and there is a great scene of them managing conflict well and her being empowered enough to be the first to ask him out. This can be used to illustrate healthy relationships.

Others

  • The Accused, rated R
  • Affliction, rated R
  • Basic Instinct, rated R
  • Bastard Out of Carolina, rated R
  • Beauty and the Beast (Disney), rated G
  • Bhaji on the Beach, rated R: An assortment of women, all ethnic Indians living in England, take a day trip to a seaside resort where their different stories mix and play themselves out.
  • Blue Velvet, rated R
  • Born in Flames, not rated
  • Boys Don’t Cry, rated R
  • Boys on the Side, rated R: A buddy/road movie that explores the special relationships that can develop among women.
  • The Burning Bed, rated R: Farrah Fawcett plays a woman reaching the breaking point with her abusive and brutal husband. Based on a true story.
  • Cape Fear, rated R: (both the 1992 version directed by Martin Socrsese and the original by Lee J. Thompson)
  • Carousel, not rated
  • Chicken Run, rated G
  • Chinatown, rated R
  • A Clockwork Orange, rated R
  • Coal Miner’s Daughter, rated PG: The film biography of country singer Loretta Lynn traces her impoverished Appalachian childhood through marriage at thirteen up to her reign as the “First Lady of Country Music.”
  • The Color Purple, rated PG-13: Alice Walker’s story about the growth to maturity and independence of a mistreated African-American woman in Georgia.
  • Crimes of the Heart, rated PG-13: “Three sisters with quite different personalities and lives reunite when the youngest of them, Babe, has just shot her husband.”
  • Days of Wine and Roses, not rated
  • Defending Our Lives, not rated: Academy Award-winning documentary about battered women imprisoned for killing their abusers which clearly demonstrates how the criminal justice system and society often fail to protect battered women. 2 versions (42, 30 minutes). Cambridge Documentary Films, Inc.: (617) 354-3677
  • Diary of a Mad Housewife, rated G
  • Extremities, rated R
  • Fatal Attraction, rated R
  • Fear, rated R
  • Fried Green Tomatoes, rated PG-13: The story of friendships between women, starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy. Based on the novel by Fannie Flagg.
  • Gaslight, not rated (1944): “…two lovebirds marry after only knowing each other weeks, and they return to the home in Thornton Square, London, that she inherited after her aunt’s untimely death. Not long after settling in, Gregory begins accusing Paula of being forgetful, and of doing things she isn’t aware of, and though at first she feels this could not be the case, he presents her with evidence time and again, causing even Paula begins to agree that she truly is going mad. She is forbidden from leaving the home, or having guests over, and when she begins to hear footsteps in the closed-off attic up above, and the gaslight dims, but she shrugs them off as more signs of losing her mind.”
  • Gia, rated R: starring Angelina Jolie the story of a famous model who became a magnificent success in her career as it destroyed her
  • Gone Girl, rated R
  • Gone with the Wind, rated G
  • The Great Santini, rated PG
  • Hans Christian Anderson
  • Higher Learning, rated R
  • Independence Day (1983), rated R
  • In the Bedroom, rated R
  • Jagged Edge, rated R
  • Joy Luck Club, rated R: Based on the novel by Amy Tan, the film explores the turbulent lives of four Chinese women, each of whom emerges from mainland China’s male-dominated society to face the challenge of raising a daughter in the United States.
  • Jury of Our Peers, not rated: “When a weekend party leads to rape and murder, a tight-knit group of friends pool together to act as judge, jury, and executioner in this thought-provoking thriller…”
  • The Killer Inside Me, rated R
  • Kindergarten Cop, rated PG-13: Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an undercover cop who poses as a kindergarten teacher.
  • Ladybird, Ladybird, rated R: A single mother battles with social services for custody of her children.
  • La Strada (1954), not rated: “A care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.”
  • Mad Max, rated R
  • Mi Vida Loca, rated R
  • Mona Lisa, rated R: A crime thriller starring Bob Hoskins.
  • Monster, rated R
  • Natural Born Killers, rated R
  • Nuts, rated R
  • Oklahoma!, not rated
  • Oliver!, rated G
  • Once Upon a Time in America, rated R
  • Once Were Warriors, rated R: A mother of five re-evaluates her 18-year marriage to her alcoholic, hot-tempered husband when his barroom violence moves tragically into their home life. Produced and filmed in New Zealand, the film also presents a view into the ways that urbanization has undermined the culture and strength of the Maories, indigenous peoples of that country.
  • Osaka Elegy (1936), not rated: “A young woman sacrifices everything to pay her family’s debts.”
  • Othello, rated R: Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh star in Shakespeare’s tragedy, the most famous tale of domestic homicide of all time.
  • The Piano, rated R: A mute Scotswoman travels to New Zealand to marry a man she has never met.
  • Pixote: a lei do mais fraco (Pixote, the law of the weakest), rated R: “The title character… has been abandoned by his parents and is scrounging for a living on the streets. Pixote survives by becoming a drug-dealer, pimp and murderer…and he’s only ten years old.”
  • The Prince of Tides, rated R
  • A Question of Silence, rated R
  • Precious (2010), rated R
  • Pulp Fiction, rated R
  • Raging Bull, rated R: Robert de Niro profiles prizefighter Jake La Motta.
  • Rashomon (1951), not rated: “…this movie is a psychologically and morally complex tale of a trial to determine who is at fault for a murder and possible rape. The rape is not depicted onscreen, but is discussed openly.”
  • Real Women Have Curves, rated PG-13
  • Rocky, rated PG
  • Saving Silverman, PG-13 and R-rated versions: “Darren Silverman’s longtime friends try to save him from marrying his controlling new girlfriend, whose behavior threatens the friends, their band, and Darren’s chance at happiness with his lifelong true love.”
  • Shame (2010), rated R
  • Shawshank Redemption, rated R: discussion of prison rape and depiction of circumstances leading to rape
  • Shoot the Moon, rated R
  • Sling Blade, rated R: The story of an outsider, newly released from a mental asylum, who tries to make a new life and reconcile his past.
  • Straw Dogs, rated R
  • Streetcar Named Desire (1951), rated PG
  • Sudden Impact, rated R
  • Taming of the Shrew (various versions)
  • Te Doy Mis Ojos, not rated: The story of a woman who leaves her abusive husband with her son, with varying degrees of support from her extended family.
  • Tess, rated PG
  • Thelma and Louise, rated R
  • This Boy’s Life, rated R: Autobiography of writer Tobias Wolff, starring Leonardo di Caprio, Ellen Barkin and Robert de Niro.
  • Thousand Pieces of Gold, rated PG-13: A story about a Chinese woman in America who is sold to a “wife trader,” then trafficked into prostitution.
  • A Time to Kill, rated R
  • Titanic, rated PG-13
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, not rated
  • Two Women, not rated
  • Unforgiven, rated R
  • War of the Roses, d Rrate
  • What’s Love Got to Do With It?, rated R: The story of Ike and Tina Turner.
  • The Wide Sargasso Sea, rated NC-17
  • Wild at Heart, rated R
  • We Were the Mulvaneys, not rated
  • The Woodsman, rated R
  • Stop It Now! created a discussion guide focusing on prevention issues for the Woodsman
  • Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl, rated R

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Online Safety

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Research on Prevention Raymond A. Knight, Ph.D. of Brandeis University gave this keynote address titled “Preventing Rape: What the Research Tells Us” at the 2011 Massachusetts Adolescent Sex Offender Coalition (MASOC) / Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (MATSA) Conference held April 11-13, 2011.

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Sexism, Rape Culture

FLIRTING WITH DANGER: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships

Social and developmental psychologist and author Lynn Phillips explores the line between consent and coercion in this thought-provoking look at popular culture and the ways real girls and women navigate their heterosexual relationships and hookups. Featuring dramatizations of interviews that Phillips conducted with hundreds of young women, the film examines how the wider culture’s frequently contradictory messages about pleasure, danger, agency, and victimization enter into women’s most intimate relationships with men. The result is a refreshingly candid, and nuanced, look at how young women are forced to grapple with deeply ambivalent cultural attitudes about female sexuality. Essential for courses that look at popular culture, gender norms, sexuality, and sexual violence.

THE PURITY MYTH: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women

This alternately hilarious and infuriating new film adaptation of pioneering feminist blogger Jessica Valenti’s bestselling book makes a powerful case that evangelical Christians, right-wing politicians, and conservative activists have been using irrational fears around young women’s sexuality to undermine women’s autonomy and roll back women’s rights. In a wide-ranging analysis that moves from ‘purity balls’ and the abstinence movement to right-wing attacks on Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive health care, Valenti targets the persistent patriarchal assumption that men know what’s best for women — and that a woman’s worth depends on what she does, or does not do, sexually.

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Sexual Harassment

Anita: Speaking Truth to Power

“Anita Hill’s graphic testimony was a turning point for gender equality in the U.S. and ignited a political firestorm about sexual misconduct and power in the workplace that resonates still today. She has become an American icon, empowering millions of women and men around the world to stand up for equality and justice.

Against a backdrop of sex, politics, and race, ANITA reveals the intimate story of a woman who spoke truth to power. Directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Freida Mock, the film is both a celebration of Anita Hill’s legacy and a rare glimpse into her private life with friends and family, many of whom were by her side that fateful day 20 years ago.”

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Spanish Language General list of domestic violence-related videos and Te Invito campaign for engaging men, including PSAs, from the National Latin@ Network.

Florida Department of Health Rape – Talk About It campaign, with radio PSAs, scripts, and short videos in English and Spanish.

From Intermedia, La Confianza Perdida is a program that includes a 22-minute film and a bilingual discussion guide for $99.95. La Confianza Perdida is a Spanish language program on date and acquaintance rape. The title, utilizing a double entendre on the word confianza, means both “loss of self confidence” and “loss of trust in another.”

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Stalking

Title IX

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Victim Blaming, Slut Shaming

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Violence Against Women and Alcohol

Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies & Alcohol

By the Media Education Foundation. The documentary critiques “the role that contemporary popular culture plays in glamorizing excessive drinking and high-risk behaviors. Award-winning media critics Jackson Katz and Jean Kilbourne contrast these distorted representations with the often disturbing and dangerous ways that alcohol consumption affects the lives of real young men and women. Illustrating their analysis with numerous examples, Katz and Kilbourne decode the power and influence these seductive media images have in shaping gender identity, which is linked to the use of alcohol. Nowhere is this link more cause for concern than on America’s college campuses.”

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Violence in Same Sex Relationships

My Girlfriend Did It (1995)

This video defines the dynamics of women’s same-sex abusive relationships, and examines the impact of oppression when addressing woman-to-woman battering. Women who have been in abusive relationships tell their stories, and offer testimony about the unique situations faced by women with same sex partners. Their fear of coming out, their particular difficulty finding resources in rural areas, the harm done to family and friends as well as the abused woman are all discussed. Experts also talk about the need for community education, community resources, more research on the issue, and the profound need for support for women battered by women. This program was produced in 1995.

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