Controversial campus rape documentary to show at KU

A screening of the controversial documentary “The Hunting Ground” is among events planned on the Kansas University campus for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

April’s event lineup also includes appearances by two nationally known speakers, the first of which is Friday evening.

Video blogger and MTV personality Laci Green will present “Taking Down Rape Culture” at 6 p.m. Friday at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Green, 25, hosts the YouTube show “Sex Plus” and speaks on sexual violence prevention and healthy sexual relationships.

At 7 p.m. April 13, also at Woodruff Auditorium, David Lisak will give a talk, “Confronting Sexual Violence on the College Campus.” Lisak is a clinical psychologist known for his research and consulting on non-stranger rapes, including campus sexual assault.

“The Hunting Ground” will show at 7 p.m. April 28 at Woodruff Auditorium. The documentary, from award-winning documentary writer and director Kirby Dick, is “a startling exposé of sexual assault on U.S. campuses, institutional cover-ups and the brutal social toll on victims and their families,” according to the film’s website.

Kathy Rose-Mockry, director of KU’s Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, said the film has important themes that hit close to home.

“I think it’s important for looking critically for what we as a campus can be doing, should be doing, are doing and continue to strive to do better,” Rose-Mockry said.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities are organized by multiple KU groups including the Emily Taylor Center, Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access and others.

“Many units on campus all share the concern that we raise awareness,” Rose-Mockry said.

A full list of Sexual Assault Awareness Month events at KU can be found on the Emily Taylor website, emilytaylorcenter.ku.edu/saam. Events are open to the public.