Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Videos

Three Muslim women share their stories of sexual assault--and, in a deeply personal way, they challenge the stigma that has long suppressed the voice of survivors. Throughout America, many Muslim communities persist in stigmatizing all discussion of sex-related subjects. Even though sexual assault and abuse are widespread, conversations about it are rare--and the pressure for victims and their families to "keep it a secret" helps perpetuate abuse. BREAKING SILENCE takes a radical and humanizing approach to the emotional scars of sexual assault, giving women the space to share their voices without shame.

In this influential and groundbreaking film, pioneering anti-violence educator Jackson Katz argues that we need to understand the crisis of violence in American society - including school shootings, bullying, hate crimes, sexual assault, and teen dating violence - as a part of a more fundamental crisis in masculinity. Taking a sustained look at media portrayals of boys and men, the film shows how American pop culture glamorizes definitions of manhood that normalize men's violence.

A dramatic and timely exploration of domestic abuse, which examines the persistence of violence against women in the US, through the story of Kim, a mother of three in Duluth, MN. Duluth was the birthplace of a revolution in the way society approaches battering, and the film tells the story of the leaders from Duluth who remain on the front lines today. The film also looks at the debate launched by researchers and academics who have challenged the Duluth approach.

"From the makers of 'The Invisible War' comes a startling expose of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups and the devastating toll they take on students and their families. Weaving together vérité footage and first person testimonies, the film follows the lives of several undergraduate assault survivors as they attempt to pursue--despite incredible pushback, harassment and traumatic aftermath--both their education and justice"--Container.

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson (Danny Glover), things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. Based on the novel by Alice Walker.

Boy Erased tells the courageous story of Jared Eamons, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who must overcome the fallout of being outed to his parents. His parents struggle with reconciling their love for their son with their beliefs. Fearing a loss of family, friends, and community, Jared is pressured into attending a conversion therapy program. While there, Jared comes into conflict with its leader and begins his journey to finding his own voice and accepting his true self.