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11/01/2016 02:30 PMWhile sexual assault is the focus of national headlines, Guilford residents are working to start conversations around sexual assault and masculinity right here in town through a series of films shown at the Guilford Free Library and co-sponsored by Shoreline Girls United and Not a Distraction.
On Thursday, Nov. 17, the library will show the documentary Audrie & Daisy followed by a panel discussion with local leaders. The film follows two teenage girls on opposite sides of the country, both of whom became intoxicated at high school parties, and while unconscious, were sexually assaulted. In the aftermath of the attacks, both girls, who were filmed and photographed during their attacks, are bullied and harassed on social media.
Not A Distraction is a group dedicated to raising awareness about issues like dress codes and body shaming and Shoreline Girls United (SGU) is a girl-run program dedicated to discussing issues that matter to young women. Both are based in Guilford.
SGU’s Jill Paglino said she and Samantha Parsons of Not a Distraction had been looking for an appropriate film and selected Audrie & Daisy due to the attention it brings to the element of social media.
“It is so current,” said Paglino. “These cases that they talk about are within the last five years. It captures a very new problem that teenagers are finding themselves in. That is the new twist that we have where when kids are drinking they are also going to have their phones.”
According to rainn.org, an anti-sexual violence organization, females aged 16 to 19 are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than someone in the general population. Reflecting on that statistic, Paglino said there needs to be a larger conversation about sexual assault.
“I can’t think of a reason that this couldn’t happen here. We are not immune,” she said. “…So far as I know, this is not being talked about on the shoreline, but somebody has to bring it up and it might as well be us...I am OK with getting that ball rolling.”
Following the film, a panel of speakers, including Guilford Police Department Detective Martina Jakober and MADE in Madison Assistant Coalition Coordinator Jennifer Wenderoth-Holster, will lead a discussion about the film. Paglino said discussing the film in a group setting is important.
“After you watch these movies, you are going to feel moved to do something. If you are just home alone watching it, you are going to feel powerless—what can one person do against a giant cultural phenomenon? But if you are in a community and everyone is talking and you are surrounded by people who feel the same way, then you actually have the opportunity to get together with those people and come up with a plan,” she noted.
Paglino said she has seen working groups come out of film screenings like this. In Clinton last spring, the community came together to watch The Mask You Live In and began a larger conversation about how society raises boys.
The Mask You Live In is the series’ second film, shown at the library on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The film explores how the concept of masculinity in today’s society teaches boys to disconnect from their emotions, objectify women, and resolve conflicts through violence. Paglino said it is important to show a film on male development, as this is not a one-sided issue.
“SGU hasn’t really done anything around boys, but I have a boy and other women I work with have boys, so there is a feeling that we need to have more conversations around how boys are being raised in our culture,” she said. “This was a good and simple way to bring boys into the conversation.”
A panel will also follow the film, with members including a doctor and a representative from Clinton. Paglino said she hopes to see the possibility of a working group being formed in town, much the way it was in Clinton.
“I am hoping this will be the start of that kind of a process in Guilford,” she said.
With both films, Paglino said she hopes to give people in the community who are concerned about these issues the chance to come together.
“I would like for people who are thinking and are worrying about these specific issues to be able to find each other so that they can get together and plan something bigger,” she said.
Guilford Free Library Assistant Director Rob McCoole said he’s pleased the library is able to host the films and panels.
“These films address important and timely topics,” he said. “The rise of social media has complicated and in some cases magnified problems that young people have always faced. I was immediately interested in the program when Jill Paglino and Samantha Parsons came to me with the idea.”
Audrie & Daisy will be shown Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. and The Mask You Live In will be shown Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Guilford Free Library followed by panel discussions. Both films are free; some material may not be suitable for young children.