Rape and sexual violence have long been represented in movies, and they’re often integral to plots or character development. While rape — and sex in general — was once a taboo topic for film, today we’re much more likely to see rape not just referenced, but fully played out across the screen.

The media’s evolving acceptance of sex and its ability to take on hot-button issues can be viewed as positive progress, but the way that movies depict sexual violence today is problematic. Sexual assault has largely become an element used to carry a movie’s narrative forward and makes for a step backward in how we talk about and think of rape in society.

Rhianne Barreto appears in the exceptional Share

The Problems with Sexual Assault in Movies

Scenes of sexual assault are frequently used for their shock value or are seen as necessary in driving the narrative of a film. In some cases, sexual assault is included to make a statement about the characters surrounding the victim, rather than about the victim’s life or mental health. In this situation, the real significance of how a rape alters a victim’s life is removed, with the focus being transferred to other characters. This approach minimalizes the act and, in doing so, minimizes the victim, as well.

Many movies include sexual violence in order to signify power. Male characters are often portrayed as using their influence and power to gain a woman’s (somewhat reluctant) consent, sexual or otherwise. It’s a form of manipulation, and men use their power to control women. This approach humanizes the men for taking advantage of women, making the conversation around sexual assault and consent one about power, rather than about the damaging effects of an assault.

Accurate Sexual Violence Depictions in Movies

Sexual violence can transform a victim’s life, and it’s this life-altering effect that is rarely portrayed in movies. Highly publicized issues like the #MeToo movement and the gymnastics sexual assault scandal have pushed sexual violence into the limelight. Today, we better understand the mental health issues and overall struggles that can result from an assault.

Since the #MeToo movement, more films have included an accurate, honest portrayal of sexual assault. For example, in the 2017 movie The Light of the Moon, the narrative focuses on the challenges a rape victim faces in returning to her “normal” life. The film is directed by Jessica M. Thompson and takes the rare approach of following how rape transforms a victim’s life.

Michael Stahl-David and Stephanie Beatriz in The Light of the Moon

Pippa Bianco’s 2019 movie Share also focuses on how the aftermath of a sexual assault affects the victim. In the film, a 16-year-old protagonist named Mandy discovers video footage of her assault and must undergo the fallout of the event that she has no memory of.

These two films provide a much more realistic view of sexual assault and how it affects its victims, but we need additional filmmakers to follow Thompson and Bianco’s lead. 

Steps Filmmakers Can Take

In order to create movies that accurately highlight the effects of sexual assault, filmmakers need to better understand assault and its effects on the victim. A detailed understanding of the definition of sexual consent would allow filmmakers to highlight sexual assault issues more accurately and with more sensitivity to the nuances at play in many of these situations.

When filmmakers equip themselves with a more accurate understanding of sexual violence and corresponding laws and situations a victim might face, they can make movies that are more accurate and more sensitive. More laws exist today to protect women from sexual discrimination and harassment, such as the Title IX legislature. Most people know that workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage for items like medical expenses and lost wages if an employee is injured on the job, but few people realize that workers’ compensation insurance may also cover sexual assault if that assault occurs in the workplace. By taking the time to thoroughly research the issues and details surrounding sexual violence, filmmakers can depict it more accurately and responsibly.

Additionally, filmmakers need to assess how they include sexual violence in their film’s narrative. They must approach sexual violence as a transformative event for a female character, not as an event for that character to simply react to. Accurately depicting the mental illness, life challenges, and trauma of a sexual assault can better portray the true significance of sexual violence. 

What Movies are Doing Right

Movies have the potential to generate discussion around sexual assault as well as the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental health issues that can result. During the past decades, movies have made great progress in how they portray mental illness and PTSD. Movies like Silver Linings Playbook and Inside Out are helping to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness. Recent films such as Stronger and Thank You For Your Service also take a more sensitive approach to depicting PTSD.

Because movies have the ability to communicate with a massive audience, filmmakers need to embrace the same sensitive, thoughtful approach when they depict scenes of sexual violence. Films like In the Light of the Moon and Share are few and far between. If more filmmakers adopt a responsible depiction of sexual violence, we can change the narrative around rape.