Check Victim/Suspect [Netflix] – Review in FilmTotaal

Director: Nancy Schwarzman | Time to play: 90 minutes | Year: 2023

When young and vulnerable victims of sexual violence report this to the police, this is a call for the help of experienced and diligent officers to carry out a thorough investigation of the alleged crime. No one expects to be handcuffed in that situation. Rae de Leon does it in the Netflix documentary Victim/Suspect report of his investigation into the dozens of cases of sexual assault that have occurred in the United States during the last ten years, which ended with the arrest of the alleged victim.

In the US, making a false report is punishable by imprisonment, the maximum length of which varies by state. Accuse someone of making a false report Victim/Suspect also the easiest way for police officers to close a case quickly with as little paperwork as possible. We see three young women who reported a rape during their student days, but the police didn’t believe them and ended up behind bars themselves.

The austere approach of the documentary adds an extra power to the story. Where many documentaries on Netflix rely on a high level of entertainment, put Victim/Suspect to honest journalism. Through a mix of interviews and recordings of interrogation sessions, it becomes clear that the investigations creak and creak all over the place.

As a young woman, it is sickening to see victims treated as suspects from the get-go, often questioned for hours and interrogated in every possible way, while the alleged perpetrators are allowed to recount at length about their fishing trips, and are tightens the heart that they will go out again as soon as possible. One of the women in the interrogation room expresses the sentiment clearly: “I feel like she has an advantage over me, but I don’t understand why.”

In all its simplicity Victim/Suspect a truly terrifying film, which raises the question of whether reporting a sexual assault is worth it to the victims. Women have not only been relentlessly harassed and belittled by police officers who should have helped them, but have often been mercilessly bulldozed by the press. To them, this project from Rachel de Leon and director Nancy Schwartzman seems like the first safe haven to tell their side of the story.

That De Leon is a dedicated journalist with a heart for the cause is clear from the thoughtfulness she displays at all stages of the investigation. She remains constantly aware of her position in the case and she follows the women at a suitable distance, but defends them when necessary, when they cannot use their own voices. This is in stark contrast to police officers who refuse to be held accountable and deny all requests to speak with De León.

Victim/Suspect can be seen in Netflix.