As the closing event for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Hopkins Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU) sponsored a lecture by feminist writer Sara Alcid titled SARU Presents Law and Order: SVU vs. Reality on Friday in Mudd Hall.
Alcid, who wrote an article about sexual assault cases portrayed in the TV show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in October for EverydayFeminism.com, presented various clips about fictional cases of sexual assault in the program and discussed its portrayal of sexual assault crimes. After each clip, she asked audience members for their opinions concerning the show’s accuracy showing the reality of rape and other sexual crimes.
“I was happy to be here today because I think there is a need on every college campus so I’m happy to come and highlight some things that we can learn from Law and Order: SVU about realities like sexual violence and things we can do to combat its prowess,” Alcid said.
Alcid’s lecture was interactive, as students presented their feelings about the SVU clips and were encouraged to ask their own questions about popular myths during a question and answer session.
“I thought the event was very informative and it was a really great way to just fight down all the myths that are involved with rape culture,” freshman Alexis Rodriguez said.
Alcid discussed issues that the award-winning crime drama series accurately portrays, but also critiqued instances where the show’s portrayal fell short of reality.
Alcid debunked myths about sexual assault in the show, including the stereotype depicting rapists solely as strangers. To prove the falsity of this perception, she cited a statistic which revealed that 51.1 percent of rapes are committed by the victim’s intimate partner while only 13.8 percent are committed by strangers.
A notable clip Alcid selected portrayed SVU’s recounting of a college fraternity-related rape. Alcid felt that this clip might resonate with some students in the audience and encouraged anyone uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the room.
“I think that a lot of the activism around upsetting rape culture is really taking root on college campuses these days,” Alcid said. “I think that’s in part because a lot of the myths and the structures and the silence that fuels rape culture exists on college campuses, but also in our culture at large.”
Concerning the law enforcement portrayed on television, Alcid also presented clips depicting myths that police and detectives always believe rape survivors’ stories. To counter this optimistic view of the treatment of sexual violence crimes, Alcid cited a statistic which revealed that law enforcement personnel actually believe that half or more of survivor reports are fabrications.
Another clip from the show purported that rape survivors sometimes fabricate reports, but Alcid reported that in actuality, only 2-8 percent of reported rapes are false reports.
In the future, Alcid plans to continue to tour college campuses. She will also continue to focus on her involvement with FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, a creative activist group based in Baltimore that creates art actions to generate media attention and catalyze conversation about rape in contemporary society.
“This is the first time that I’ve done this lecture, so typically my lectures are more about feminism in general,” Alcid said. “I am the social media manager at FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, so that’s where my on-going activism around this issue lives, but I’m happy to do this speech wherever.”
SARU’s co-directors, sophomores Ella Rogers-Fett and Rebecca Grenham, wrote in an email to The News-Letter that Alcid’s lecture provided an educational and refreshing view on the media’s portrayal of sexual crimes.
“We thought [Alcid’s EverydayFeminism.com article] provided the analytical approach to the media’s representation of the media’s portrayal of sexual assault that we were looking for,” they wrote. “The lecture benefited Hopkins students because it spoke to students who are not only interested in sexual assault but also those who are fans of Law & Order: SVU and want to become more critical consumers. Alcid’s presentation was helpful because it expanded the general understanding of sexual assault and who it affects.”
Other members of FORCE attended and contributed to the discussion.
“[The participation of other] members of FORCE in the discussion ... allowed the audience exposure to work currently being done in this field,” Rogers-Fett and Grenham wrote.
At the event, SARU provided free condoms, lip balms and pamphlets, which included a list of sexual violence resources available on campus as well as definitions of sexual consent.
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