Fight Sexual Assault With The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-09-21 16:19:00 UTC
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If you haven't already read/seen The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo or the other books/films in the trilogy, I won't give anything away. Suffice to say that the bad-ass heroines of the trilogy are survivors of traumatic rapes and physical assaults. And while the films have been box office hits and the books can be found on the bestsellers shelves of any bookstore (or airport convenience store, where I picked up my copy — the chunky books are good for coast-to-coast flights), what makes the success oh-so-much sweeter is that they're being used to raise sexual assault awareness.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) has partnered up with the film's U.S. distributor, Music Box Films, to get the word out about sexual assault. Thousands of free DVDs are up for grabs for college campuses and rape crisis centers who want to screen The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to draw in a wider audience they can educate about rape prevention and awareness. It's a great tactic: most campus groups and crisis centers regularly run up against the problem of preaching to the choir, so using pop culture as a draw for people who wouldn't otherwise attend this kind of event can open up whole new audiences.

This Thursday is RAINN Day, when college and university campuses are encouraged to hold events to further the cause of sexual assault awareness and prevention — but students who are not participating in the day of action are still encouraged to request a DVD to hold a screening of their own anytime between now and the end of the year.

A warning to people considering watching the film in a group or on their own some rainy day: like sexual assault and rape itself, the incidents depicted in the film are disturbing and graphic, and the story specializes in extreme violence. For people who have been victims of sexual assault, it could trigger flashbacks. That said, if you're not concerned about a severe PTSD reaction, but are just squeamish about seeing violence against women (as, really, shouldn't we all be?), I'd recommended trying to view the film anyway, and definitely taking the opportunity to join in on the discussion if a screening event occurs near you. (Or, of course, you could be the screening event near you.)

In addition to organizing events like the screening of Dragon Tattoo, RAINN provides a range of resources for sexual assault survivors and activists. This includes a new online hotline that allows sexual assault victims or their friends and family to communicate via instant message completely anonymously. Ah, the magic of the internet: it takes the old 1-800-number hotline to an all new level of access. RAINN can provide everything from crisis support to medical information to advice on pursuing criminal charges to useful local resources. And the organization is in the running for a Pepsi Refresh grant to get the online hotline in Spanish as well. Let it rain!

Photo credit: joanna8555

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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