New Hope, BBCC offer free showing of 'The Hunting Ground'

MOSES LAKE — In support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, Grant County’s New Hope Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Crime Victim Services is co-sponsoring a showing of the award-winning film “The Hunting Ground” with Big Bend Community College (BBCC) Student Clubs.

The film showing will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the ATEC Building at Big Bend and will be free to the public.

“The Hunting Ground” chronicles the personal stories of student victims of sexual assault on college and university campuses in America. The film features the Oscar-nominated song “Til it Happens to You,” which was performed by Lady Gaga at this year’s Academy Awards, and brings to light rape culture, sexual consent and victim support, per a release from New Hope.

“The Hunting Ground” focuses on college campuses, but the problem of sexual assault (which includes more than rape) certainly isn’t confined to college, said Carolyn Pence, New Hope’s director. The agency offers help and support to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and crime.

“It can happen to anyone,” Pence said.

New Hope provides services for victims in Grant and Adams counties, and had 147 clients in 2015. There were 41 reported sexual assaults in Adams County in 2015, 37 investigated by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, six reported to the Quincy Police Department and two to the Ephrata Police Department.

The number of reported crimes doesn’t match the number of people who came to New Hope for help, Pence said, and that’s a reflection of the sensitivity of the subject. “We encourage people to call and talk to us,” she said, but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re afraid of the assailant, sometimes they’re afraid of repercussions – there are, she said, lots of reasons. “Often, it’s perpetrated by someone you know,” Pence said.

The New Hope office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but help is available 24/7 through the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crisis Line, 1-888-560-6027. In February the office moved to a new location, 604 West Third Street, Suite B, in Moses Lake. But the organization maintains offices in Quincy, Mattawa and Othello, and its employees will meet people at locations away from its offices at the client’s request. “We (meet with clients) all over Grant and Adams counties,” Pence said.

Sometimes people do call for their friends, but at some point the victim must be willing to talk to New Hope, she said. “Clients need to call us themselves.”

All New Hope’s services are free and confidential, Pence said. People can call to ask questions, learn about their options and find out where they can go to get help. “We can steer them in the right direction.”

At its roots, sexual assault is “motivated by the need to control, humiliate and harm,” according to the website NoMore.org. (Pence cited information from the website.) Sexual assault can happen at any age, but most victims are girls and women younger than age 24. An estimated 42 percent of female victims have been assaulted before they turned 18.

Any sexual activity requires consent, and consent is “clear, unambiguous and voluntary agreement,” the No More website said. Sex when a victim can’t give consent – is drunk, has taken drugs or is afraid – is a crime, the website said.

According to the film’s website, one in five women in college are sexually assaulted, but only a fraction of these crimes are reported and fewer still result in punishment for perpetrators. The film “follows undergraduate rape survivors pursuing both their education and justice, despite ongoing harassment and the devastating toll on them and their families,” according to www.thehuntinggroundfilm.com.

Current and future college students and parents of prospective college students are also specifically invited to attend, as the film is especially relevant to those groups.

New Hope and Big Bend staff will be on hand and available before, during and after the film for discussion and to answer questions. Refreshments will be served, as well.

For more information on the showing of “The Hunting Ground” Wednesday at Big Bend or to arrange a private screening, contact New Hope at 509-764-8402. For more information on the film, visit www.thehuntinggroundfilm.com.

“The Hunting Ground” won the Producers Guild of America’s (PGA) Stanley Kramer Award for 2015, an award that is given to films that illuminate provocative social issues. It was also named Best Documentary by the Utah Film Critics. Additionally, the film received Best Documentary nominations from the PGA, Chicago Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics, and Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics.

The song “Til it Happens to You” was nominated for Best Song by Broadcast Film Critics and St. Louis Film Critics.