Content warning: this article contains subject matter some readers may find upsetting.
People have been left with their 'skin crawling' after watching the horrifying new documentary Victim/Suspect on Netflix.
The latest addition to the streaming platform is giving viewers an extremely visceral reaction considering the harrowing subject matter.
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Netflix users have since taken to social media to share just how disturbed they were by the unapologetically raw documentary. Check out the trailer:
Directed by Nancy Schwartzman, the doc chronicles journalist Rae de Leon’s investigation into a shocking nationwide pattern in which women report sexual assault but are not believed.
The official synopsis says: "Young women tell the police they’ve been sexually assaulted, but instead of finding justice, they’re charged with the crime of making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they believed would protect them."
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The Netflix film sees Leon's investigation seek to uncover and examine the pattern in question as she unravels the real-life nightmare using real footage of victims in police custody alongside witness testimonies.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), an American nonprofit anti-sexual assault organization, the largest in the United States, only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police.
That means more than two-thirds go unreported.
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And, out of every 1,000 assaults, 975 perpetrators will walk free.
Given such horrifying statistics, it seems it's of no surprise that of the sexual violence crimes not reported to police from 2005-2010, 15 percent of victims said they didn't report it because they believed the police either could not or would not do anything to help.
Viewers have since flocked to Twitter to share their reactions to the spine-chilling film and the eerie truth about the legal system it shines a spotlight on.
One Twitter user posted: "Victim/Suspect had my stomach churning, my skin crawling, and my heart aching within the first 15 minutes. If you are able, please watch."
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A second wrote: "I feel so sick watching this. Actually SICK. The police officers in this documentary all need to be held to justice. Absolutely vile human beings."
"Two minutes into Victim/Suspect and I’m already furious and screaming at the TV," a third echoed.
A fourth dubbed the docu-film a 'must watch' after tweeting: "Was truly horrified by what I learnt in the documentary. Truly a real concern that needs to be cared about. The journalism though that I witnessed was truly one of the best pieces of it."
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Victim/Suspect is currently available to stream on Netflix.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix, Documentaries, Crime, True crime
Rhiannon Ingle