rape • domestic violence • incest survivors • women's shelters • self-defense • sexual harrassment
ASIA
Idi Katha Mathramena? (India)
(Is This Just a Story?)
Film, 16 mm, 23 min., b/w, in Telugu and other Indian dialects
Made by Yugantar
Distributor: Yugantar (India)
Using a fictional style the film attempts to examine the nature of marital violence and the roles women are expected to play to keep the family "harmonious" at all costs.
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
Come On (Australia 1978)
Film, 16 mm, 8 min., b/w, in English
Made by Elizabeth McRae and Joanne Horsburgh
Distribution: Sydney Filmmakers Cooperative (Australia)
All women have been the object of sexual harassment: wolf whistles, cat calls, verbal abuse, ogles, stares, sexual innuendoes and passes are such common experiences that most women accept them as normal. Yet they affect women's freedom to move around, day or night, without being accosted. This film tackles a frightening reality for women, socially sanctioned sexual harassment and assault.
It's Just a Compliment, Luv (Australia 1981)
Video, VHS, U-Matic, 27 min., color, in English
Made by Amanda King
Distributor: Cinema of Women (England)
A video documentary about sexual harassment at work as experienced by women in Australia. It also includes reconstructed sequences illustrating the extent of the problem.
Violence Against Women (Australia 1980)
Film, 16 mm, 6 min., color, in English
Made by Red Heart Pictures
Distributor: Development Education Center (DEC) (Canada)
A short film about domestic violence which questions and challenges romanticized notions of love and marriage. It draws on interviews with many different women who have experiences domestic violence.
Wing Chun Kung Fu (Australia 1978)
Film, Super 8, 22 min., color, in English
Made by Chuen Keung Martial Art School
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Cooperative (Australia)
This film outlines the principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu, the only style of martial arts ever founded by a woman. It details a simple, realistic and effective form of self-defense for women showing the application of its various techniques in real life situations.
EUROPE
Give Us a Smile (England 1983)
Film, 16 mm; video, 13 min., color, in English
Made by Leeds Animation Workshop - A Women's Collective
Distributor: Leeds Animation Workshop (England)
This film shows, from one woman's point of view, the effect of the constant harassment which women live with every day - ranging from "street humor" and stereotyped media images to actual physical violence. Using quotations from real cases, it also shows how women who have been raped or assaulted are often subjected to further harassment by the police and legal system. An exhilarating final sequence shows the ways in which women are fighting back.
Marion's Story (England 1976)
Film, 10 min., b/w, in English
Made by Nicci Crowther
Distributor: Cinema of Women (England)
A personal account of one woman's struggle against violence in marriage - rape, incest and battering. After various legal attempts to prevent her husband from accosting her fail, Marion finds the strength to leave the material security of her home in favor of caring for her own needs and those of her children.
The Power of Men Is the Patience of Women (West Germany 1978)
Film, 78 min., color, in English
Made by Cristina Perincioli
Distributor: Cinema of Women (England)
A feature-length film about violence in marriage, this draws on the experiences of many women in its depiction of Addi, a Berlin market woman who for years has been both mentally and physically abused by her husband. After many failed attempts to break out of this marriage, she goes to a woman's refuge where she finds support and a new perspective on her future.
Trial for Rape (Italy 1979)
Video, 60 min., b/w, in Italian with English subtitles
Made by Maria Grazia Belmonti, Anna Carini, Rony Daupoulo, Paola de Martiis, Annabella Miscuglio and Loredana Rotondo
Distributor: Women Make Movies (USA)
This is a record of an actual rape trial that took place in Rome in 1978, brought against three men by a young woman named Fiorella. The entire proceedings were videotaped by six women and edited into a one-hour program for broadcast over Italian television. In the trial, the lawyers for the defense reveal their deep-rooted misogyny through their justifications for rape, while the woman lawyer for Fiorella makes an eloquent plea for justice and respect.
A Porte Aperte (Italy 1979)
Video, 1/2 inch (VHS), 10 min., b/w, still images, in Italian
Made by Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva - Genoa
Distributor: Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva (Italy)
This video was produced as part of the battle to reform Italy's lenient rape laws. It has been used as an educational instrument in factories, schools and neighborhood clinics, where it has helped to spark numerous debates about how the Italian judicial system does and ought to treat both the victims and perpetrators of sexual violence.
Carrole Rosa in Parlamento (Italy 1980)
(Pink Wheelbarrows in Parliament)
Video, 1/2 in., (VHS), 22 min., b/w, in Italian
Made by Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva - Genoa
Distributor: Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva (Italy)
As shown in this video, on March 3, 1980, 50,000 women from all over Italy converged on the Italian Parliament in Rome to deliver a petition with 30,000 signatures demanding a reform of the country's rape laws. Led by wheelbarrows filled with letters of support for the initiative, the demonstration wound its way through the city. The video concludes by documenting the statements made by two of Italy's best-known feminist lawyers during a rape trial held shortly after the demonstration.
L'Amour Viole (France 1977)
(Violated Love)
Film, 110 min., color, in French
Made by Yannick Bellon
Producer: Les Films d'Equinoxe, Les Filmes du Dragon, NK2 Productions
Distributor: Les Films d'Equinoxe (France)
A young woman nurse living in the outskirts of Grenoble is gang-raped by a group of four men "out for a lark" one summer evening. Filled with guilt and shame, she finally summons the courage to tell the police with help from a sympathetic woman friend. Filled with indignation and afraid of the publicity that a trial will bring, her self-righteous boyfriend leaves her, while her mother insists that "certain things should not be talked about." Meanwhile, both the wives and parents of the rapists plead with her to withdraw her accusation. Testifying before a judge, the men accuse her of "provoking" them into action on the night of the rape. Never an ardent feminist, the protagonist undergoes a slow and painful awakening to the realities of sexist society, emerging as a tough but believable figure.
Security or Subjugation? (Northern Ireland 1984)
Video (VHS), 50 min., color, in English
Made by Derry Film and Video Collective
Distributor: Brid Brownlee (Ireland) or Stefano Chiarini (Italy)
Made by a local video group in conjunction with ex-prisoners and leaders of Sinn Fein, the bulwark of Republican resistance to the British occupation of Northern Ireland, Security or Subjugation documents the plight of women prisoners held in the women's prison at Armagh. The video focuses on the practice of strip-searching and is part of a broader campaign to reform prison conditions led by the Stop the Strip-Searches Campaign and the London Armagh Group, and can be used to educate large groups or classrooms on the nature of the Irish Republican struggle against British occupying forces.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Violacion (Mexico)
(Rape)
Slideshow, 74 slides, 9 min., in Spanish
Made by CAMVAC
Distributor: Centre Peruano de la Mujer Flora Tristan (Peru)
This slideshow describes the activities of a support group for battered women in Mexico.
Hacia una Sociedad Justa (Colombia)
(Toward a Just Society)
Slideshow, 70 slides, 15 min., manual and automatic slide change, in Spanish
Made by Centro Popular para America Latina de Comunicacion (CEPALC)
Distributor: CEPALC (Colombia)
This slideshow is about peasant women who are beaten by their husbands, most of whom are not organized enough to combat these abuses collectively. Based on the story of a single peasant family, the slideshow is intended to stimulate discussion among rural and urban grassroots groups about domestic violence.
Ni con el Petalo de una Rosa (Colombia)
(Not Even with a Rose Petal)
Video NTSC (and other video types), 3/4 and 1/2 in., 30 min., color, in Spanish
Made by Cine Mujer - Colombia
Distributor: Cine Mujer (Colombia)
This video describes different kinds of violence against women with a special focus on rape. It was made for Colombian television to celebrate the Day Against Violence Against Women on November 25, and combines interviews with drama and documentary footage.
The Issue is Rape (Trinidad & Tobago)
Video, 3/4 in., 60 min., color, in English
Made by Star Productions Ltd.
Distributor: Star Productions Ltd. (Trinidad & Tobago)
A series of programs in talk-show format exposing the discriminatory laws and medical and police procedures surrounding the crime of rape in Trinidad in the West Indies.
Rompiendo el Silencio (Mexico 1979)
(Breaking the Silence)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 40 min., b/w, in Spanish
Made by Cine Mujer - Mexico
Distributor: Centro de Mujeres para la Produccion Audiovisual (Mexico)
This film deals with the problem of rape in Mexico. To start, it provides rape statistics and illustrates the attitudes of the Catholic Church and other groups toward sexual violence. Following an interview with a female rape victim, the filmmakers go on to interview a number of university professors on the subject, all of whom blame women for inviting such attacks in the first place. As illustrated by the film, Mexican law supports this view by placing primary responsibility for rape on women instead of seeing them as the victims of a brutal criminal offense.
NORTH AMERICA
Kate Millett: Women and Violence (Canada 1980)
Video, 3/4 in., 60 min., color, in English
Made by Women in Focus Arts and Media Centre
Distributor: Women in Focus Arts and Media Centre (Canada)
In this presentation, Kate Millett discusses the nature of violence against women. She gives an overview of how rape in patriarchal society was and continues to be used as a weapon of fear to control women. Brute force, rigid social roles, master/slave relations and control through sexuality are the rules of society which maintain the status quo and keep women in their place - beneath the heel of the men they "belong" to.
Tous les Jours... Tous les Jours (Canada 1982)
(Day In, Day Out)
Video, 3/4 in., 57 min., color, in French
Made by Johanna Fournier and Nicole Giguere
Producer: Video Femmes Quebec
Distributor: Video Femmes Quebec (Canada)
A docudrama on sexual harassment, with real-life examples of how to organize against it.
In Defense of Women (USA)
Video, 1/2 in., Beta, 3/4 in., VHS, 20 min., in English
Director: Joanne Hersfield and Elaine Quintana
Producer: Office of Residential Education at Stanford University in cooperation with the Mid-Peninsula Women's Self-Defense Collective
Distributor: Women's Self-Defense Collective, Office of Residential Education (USA)
This video explores issues women face in learning to defend themselves against physical attack, combining personal interviews with scenes of women practicing physical and verbal techniques in a classroom setting. It encourages women with little or no background in self-defense to begin thinking of self-defense as an option in case of attack. It provides a complement to educational programming about sexual assault and an introduction to physical defense training for women of all ages.
The Last Taboo (USA 1978)
Film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in English
Distributor: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (USA)
A very sensitive film of a group therapy/consciousness raising workshop of women who have undergone sexual abuse as children. Aided by a skillful therapist, the women live out the terror of their childhood experience of abuse by parents and other adults. It becomes clear how these experiences are poisoning their lives as adults. By working through these experiences in a totally supportive group setting, these women come to assume new power over their lives and feel a new hope for their future.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
A Rule of Thumb (Canada)
Video, 25 min., b/w, in English
Made by Peg Campbell
Distributor: International Development Education Resources Association (IDERA Films) (Canada)
This videotape begins with an examination of the 18th century practice known as the "rule of thumb." This law permitted a husband "to chastise his wife with a whip no bigger than his thumb." A Rule of Thumb explores the extent of men's physical domination over women.
Why Women Stay (1980)
Video, 3/4 in., VHS, Beta, 30 min., b/w, in English
Made by Jacqueline McSweeney and Debra Zimmerman
Distributor: Women Make Movies (USA)
This documentary examines the complex reasons why women remain in violent homes and challenges the prevailing attitudes which accept domestic violence, as well as the social structures which perpetuate it. In addition, it demonstrates the supportive environment in battered women's shelters, thereby questioning the lack of government and private funds for such shelters.
Battered Women: Violence Behind Doors (USA)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 24 min., color, in English
Distributor: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (USA)
A public awareness documentary, this film examines one of the most serious forms of violence in our society: wife beating. It explores the myths and realities that cause this tragedy and features interviews with both male perpetrators and female victims. It examines the cultural aspects of this violent behavior and points out some alternatives for the victims. It also depicts the complex police responsibility in the investigation of this problem.
A Common Assault (Canada)
Slideshow, 35 min., color, in English
Made by Peg Campbell
Distributor: International Development Education Resources Association (IDERA Films) (Canada)
This powerful drama portrays a situation of wife battering through various stages: crisis intervention, the transition period, and family court. It documents the effects of sex-role stereotyping on both children and adults and critically examines popular myths about battered women and the men who assault them. It is an innovative examination of battered women's situations.
A Sign of Affection (Canada)
Slideshow, 25 min., b/w, in English
Made by Peg Campbell
Distributor: International Development Education Resources Association (IDERA Films) (Canada)
This videotape covers the spectrum in its survey of attitudes and opinions on wife battering. Those interviewed range from battered women to staff of social service agencies attempting to help. The relationship between alcohol and wife battering is examined.
Blue Heaven (USA 1984)
Film, 16 mm, 100 min., color, in English
Made by Kathleen Dowdey
Producer: Elaine Sperber
Distributor: for international distribution, Shapiro Entertainment (USA); for U.S. and Canada, Five Point Films (USA)
"I made this film because I was tired of hearing that wife beating is something that only happens to poor people, that it doesn't affect the middle class," filmmaker Dowdey explains. Every year in the U.S., over six million women from every walk of life are subjected to physical abuse by their partners, actually outstripping automobile accidents as the principal cause of injury to women, she notes.
We Will Not Be Beaten (USA 1979)
Film, 16 mm., 35 min., b/w, in English
Made by Mary Tiseo, Carol Greenwood with Transition House
Distributor: Iris Feminist Collective (USA)
The film was originally produced with Transition House, a shelter for battered women just outside Boston. It revolves around a series of lively discussions with women who recount their experiences and difficulties in trying to escape a battering situation. The "experts" in the film are the women themselves. Their clarity and anger will arouse strong feelings among the audience and provide a valuable tool for discussion and organizing.
To Have and to Hold (USA)
Film, 16 mm, 20 min., color, in English
Made by Mark Lipman
Producer: Emerge
Distributor: New Day Films (USA)
To Have and to Hold is the first documentary to examine the problem of women abuse through men's experience. Composed primarily of interviews with men who have assaulted their wives and lovers, this film explores the personal and societal attitudes which lead men to do violence to those nearest them. It also examines the changes in attitudes that are essential for men to stop their violent behavior.
RAPE
Rape (USA 1983)
Slide-tape, 35 mm slides, 10 min., in English and Spanish
Made by Humanity Productions in collaboration with the Queen's Bench Foundation of San Francisco
Distributor: Humanity Productions (USA)
Rape affects all communities, ethnic groups and age levels, as well as both sexes. This slide-tape portrays a wide range of rape victims, emphasizing the community resources available to victims in a way that encourages open discussion of the crime and its causes. It stresses the immediacy of the problem in a low-key yet compelling manner and is suited to both high school-age and adult audiences.
A Fighting Chance (USA)
Video, 3/4 in., VHS, in English
Made by Mary Capps
Distributor: YWCA Rape Crisis Service (USA)
The film explores women's feelings about rape and our options for avoiding it. A group of women who were attacked explain how the assault affected them. The discussion brings out the most devastating effects of rape — not the physical injury, but the emotional trauma. It also presents ordinary women learning basic skills of physical resistance.
Contre le Viol: Des Alternatives a Developer, des Mentalites a Changer (Canada 1980)
(Against Rape: Some Alternatives to Develop, Some Attitudes to Change)
Video, 1/2 and 3/4 in., 30 min., in French
Made by Nicole Giguere
Producer: Video Femmes
Distributor: Groupe Intervention Video (GIV) (Canada) and Video Femmes (Canada)
This video documents the different forms of action that have been developed within the women's movement to combat sexual violence against women, describing a local women's tribunal, a center that offers direct services to victims and educational programs, and a group providing training in self-defense and rape prevention.
Sugar and Spice (Canada 1983)
Film, 16 mm, 20 min., color, in English
Made by Dan Perry
Distributor: Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (Canada)
This examination of the crime of rape uses firsthand accounts of victims to address contributing social factors, prevalent attitudes and misconceptions about the nature of rape. The stories the young women present provide a sense of the immediacy of the issue and a point of identification for the audience.
Chaperons Rouges (Canada 1979)
(Little Red Riding Hoods)
Video, 1/2 and 3/4 in., 43 min., b/w, in French
Made by Helen Doyle and Helene Bourgault
Producer: Groupe Intervention Video (GIV) and Video Femmes
Distributors: GIV (Canada) and Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial - Isere (France)
Long considered an innocent fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood is in fact replete with references to rape and violence against women. Starting with an analysis of the story, this video goes on to describe what rape and other forms of violence, including harassment in the street and on the job, mean for women. Fear, humiliation and frustration are all feelings that contribute to women's global oppression and that make up an important part of our daily lives. The video was awarded second prize for short films at the 1981 International Women's Film Festival in Sceaux, France.
SEE ALSO
Other resources that address the themes of this chapter are listed below. The chapters where they may be found are given in boldface type.
WORLDWIDE
Images of Women
Footbinding
ASIA
Identity, Roles and Relationships
Can You Hear Us? (Malaysia)
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
Our Work
It's Just a Compliment, Luv
EUROPE
Our Work
All Work and No Pay (England)
Images of Women
I Fantasmi del Fallo (Italy)
Reproductive Rights
Shots in the Dark (England)
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Reproductive Rights
La Operacion (Puerto Rico)
NORTH AMERICA
Our Work
It's Not Your Imagination (Canada)
Images of Women
A Respectable Lie (Canada)
C'est Surtout Pas l'Amour (Canada)