A Dutch television show titled Raped or Not, which has met with public outrage, is likely to release in the Netherlands on November 7, according to reports. Produced by Dutch broadcaster BNNVARA, the show features a panel of 14 youngsters look at some real-life rape cases and deliberate upon whether they should have qualified as sexual assault. The cases and the consecutive trials are re-enacted on the show and the final ruling is then discussed by the panel.
Raped or Not comes at a time when there has been a global debate on sexual harassment after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood personalities like producer Harvey Weinstein, director James Toback and actors Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, and Brett Ratner as well as the #MeToo social media campaign where women across the world shared their experiences of sexual harassment.
Producer Bernard Van Den Bosch said that Raped or Not is a look at the “grey area” in cases in which there is a difference of opinion about whether consent was violated in a sexual encounter. He said that the recent allegations of sexual assault against prominent Hollywood personalities are “nuanced”.
Citing the recent rape allegations by Dutch TV Producer Jelle Brandt Corstius against producer Gijs van Dam, who in turn claimed the sex was consensual, Van Den Bosch said, “Those are personal dramas. One says rape, the other sees it as an innocent sexual encounter. Our show is about that grey area.”
Producer Bernard van den Bosch told The Sun that “in-your-face title” of the show had triggered backlash from Dutch audiences. “First everyone raised their eyebrows, now everybody says: ‘What a timing”, he said.