Out In The Silence
Out in the Silence captures the controversy that ensues when filmmaker Joe Wilson's same-sex wedding announcement is published in the newspaper of the smallPennsylvania hometown he left long ago. Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson's journey dramatically illustrates the challenges of negotiating the morally charged issue of sexual orientation and the potential for building bridges when people with differing opinions approach each other with openness and respect.
Human Rights Watch exposes and combats abuses based on people's sexual orientation and gender identity. Our groundbreaking 2001 report "Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in US Schools" examines some of the issues portrayed in the film through numerous testimonies by students who faced abuse on a daily basis from peers and teachers.