The Hunting Ground

Sundance Film Festival premiered the documentary The Hunting Ground  at the 2015 Film festival. It's a film that I believe that all parents of young girls should watch. As a single parent of an 11 year old girl, I want to be aware of what kind of world I will be realistically sending my daughter into in a few years.

I want to believe that I am hopefully sending her somewhere that she can get an education and be safe. Unfortunately, I know that is not realistic. I know that anything can happen to her anywhere, and that right now I can some what control situations and make her aware of certain things. When she goes to college, unfortunately, it is up to her to control her surroundings. I hate that in this society we have to teach our daughters to act like victims already. What I mean by that is that we have to teach them how to think about what they are doing every minute of every day. It means that they are not allowed to let their guard down at all. So much of this is because of the way that victims are being treated when they report a rape or crime. Colleges have been ignoring  the victims and letting the rapist get away with a crime because of who they are. It's ridiculous that so many young women have been forced to see their rapist almost on a daily basis and have to sit in the same class room day after day. College has become a formidable Hunting Ground and colleges have helped perpetuate this hunting.

I know that most young men don't go to college to rape, but how much of this is peer pressure and the ignorance of other young men at colleges? It really is a shame that parents have to talk to their young sons about how not to be peer pressured into being a rapist. Really it is a shame that people need to talk to their sons about how they will be at college. I really hope that parents sit down and talk to their children about this, regardless of them being boys or girls. I don't like that I have to have a conversation with my daughter about how to protect herself when she goes to college, but really parents should be talking with their sons about this behavior. It is wrong that I have to have the responsibility to teach my daughter how to never let her guard down especially at the place where she is going to get her education, why shouldn't boys have to be talked about how their group behavior, peer pressure etc will affect peoples lives? I would really like to send my daughter out into a college world where I know that she can let her hair down once and awhile and not end up being a victim.

With that being said, please sit your child down and talk about these things regardless if they are male or female. We have to make changes for the better and talking with our children will hopefully help.