WHAT: Film Screening & Panel Discussion
WHEN: Thursday, October 11th, 2018
WHERE: Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami
In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experiences every parent’s worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Human Rights Watch partnered with Miami Law Human Rights Clinic, The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade, University of Miami School of Communication, and the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences to host this screening of the powerful documentary film Home Truth, which chronicles Jessica’s groundbreaking quest for justice that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
After the screening, Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Senior Researcher Amanda Klasing participated in a discussion and Q&A with the survivor-activist herself Jessica Lenahan, as well as Miami Commissioner Daniella Levine-Cava, the filmmakers, and human rights expert Caroline Bettinger-Lopez of the Miami Law Human Rights Clinic. Shot over the course of nine years, Home Truth sheds light on how our justice system responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence can linger through generations. Over a hundred participants joined us in considering why freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right.