Isolation, the pressure to belong, and lowered self-esteem can make it difficult for them to reach out for help in the midst of troubled relationships. Add to this the difficulty of making safe decisions in the context of dysfunctional role-modeling by parents, the glorification of sex and violence in the media, and gender socialization. We know more about violence against women now than ever before, yet we have not made much progress in changing the frequency of this violence. The four videos reviewed here were created by people wanting to change this, to build greater under-standing of the dynamics of power and control as expressed through violence in heterosexual relationships, with the hope of preventing future abuse. This educational video is geared toward a college audience, with the intent of increasing student awareness of the risk of sexual assault in dating situations.
Date Rape begins with a list of commonly held myths and quickly moves into a role-played scenario.
A young woman is talking on the phone to a friend while waiting for a man to arrive for their first date. Signs of trouble at the beginning of the scene are subtle, yet a careful analysis reveals that the man has clearly planned how the evening will end. Date Rape continues with statements and advice provided by experts - unfortunately, the weakest section of the video. While each of the professionals has valuable information to share, their presentations are stiff, their appearances dated, and some of their statements seem to reinforce stereotypes. Hearing a survivor's personal account of her experience is often what it takes for people to transform their own beliefs and behaviors about sexual assault.