The story that stuck out the most to me was the story of the young fourteen-year-old girl from West Africa. This young girl was raped by her uncle, who is a pastor, and decided to come forward so that hopefully this would not happen to anyone else. After the paster was arrested, he was soon released with no penalties. The young girl, on the other hand, was shunned by her family, along with her mother, because people began to believe that she led the pastor on and wasn't telling the truth.
I think this story sheds so much light on the true terrors in West Africa. Not only are there extreme rates of poverty, but the violence towards women in this country is horrific. There is a high rate of rape, female genital mutilation, and domestic violence. There is also little to no justice for victims in this country, and they often walk free or remain living in the same home as them.
I think that the U.S is aware of the issues of rape, violence, and poverty because it is something that we experience. Though I do not think that most of the U.S fully understand the true horror that occurs in these countries, not to the full extent that they happen. I also think they are aware of these things on a surface level, but they are simply viewed as "not our problem" because it isn't happening here.
I believe the film shed a lot of light on the horrible things occurring in these countries. But I feel like the reporter and the camera team were sometimes insensitive. Filming in areas where women are being oppressed comes with great responsibility, and making sure there is respect because these women have been exploited enough. I understand that it is crucial to film because it brings awareness, but I also think the victims deserve more respect. While these are horror stories to us, they are the true stories of victims.
One of the most serious and common issues is the pay gap between males and females in the United States. While women often work just as much as men, " U.S. women working full-time earn approx. 81% as much as men" (Littlefield et al., 2015). This is something that is not talked about enough, and many may believe that this inequality is not still present in our current society, though it still is. This is a serious issue because it creates a system that has long-term economic hardships for women.
Littlefield, M. B., McLane-Davison, D., & Vakalahi, H. F. O. (2015). Global Gender Inequality. Encyclopedia of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.932
Pexels. (2025). Pexels.com; Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/search/west%20africa/