On November 12, 2019, NYU’s Center for Global Affairs was honored to host Emmy winning director Leslie Thomas. Thomas is the producer and director of the documentary film “The Prosecutors.” “The Prosecutors” follows three local prosecutors in Colombia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, investigating and prosecuting crimes of conflict related sexual violence (in all three instances, rape).
The film has both a 60-minute version as well as a 90-minute version. The event on November 12 screened the 60-minute version and then was followed by an interview with Leslie Thomas by Professor Jennifer Trahan. During the conversation, Thomas described why she chose the three film locations. Thomas elaborated on how in Bosnia-Herzegovina the cases of conflict related sexual violence are over 20 years old, but local prosecutors are still pursuing perpetrators and doing so quite successfully. In the DRC, prosecutors are pursuing justice as conflict is happening, demonstrating that justice does not have to wait until a conflict is over. In Colombia, there is also a strong interest in pursuing justice, despite a sometimes challenging context.
Something that Thomas sees that all three situations have in common, however, is that all three prosecutors’ greatest obstacle in pursuing justice is the shame associated with sexual violence. The shame and secrecy about being a victim of sexual violence means that many victims will not come forward to testify or seek justice. Thomas stated, “Without addressing shame, justice is going to be really, really slow.” Thomas suggested to the audience that advocating for justice around the world can help, but it will be important to work to break down the stigma that keeps victims of sexual violence silent. In addition, Thomas stressed the importance of addressing address conflict related sexual violence in the context of peace negotiations and having women represented at the negotiating table. Finally, in the United States, she suggested it would help to have more education regarding international law, so that students and citizens can be more effective in advocating for international justice, including the prosecution of conflict related sexual violence.
In explaining why she chose to focus the film on prosecutions at the local level, Thomas stated that “there is more happening at this [local] level. The International Criminal Court was not made to mop up hundreds of perpetrators; national courts were. I figured if we looked at the national level, we could see a variety of cases, and ways to achieve justice.” Thomas went on to say that “every case is representative.” “Every single time someone is brought to justice, everyone around sees this, so that you have the potential of deterrence.” “Even if every case isn’t brought to justice [you have] the acknowledgement that [the crimes are] wrong.”
“The Prosecutors,” is currently being shown at screenings around the world and will be available on Amazon Prime. Visit http://www.theprosecutorsmovie.com/#screenings-section for more information. – Kara N. McDonald, CGA master’s degree candidate