Home Truth

In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Devastated, Jessica sued her local police department for failing to adequately enforce her domestic violence restraining order despite her repeated calls for help that night. Determined to make sure her daughters did not die in vain, Jessica pursues her case to the US Supreme Court and an international human rights tribunal, seeking to strengthen legal rights for domestic violence victims. Meanwhile, her relationship with her one surviving child, her son Jessie, suffers, as he struggles with the tragedy in his own way. Shot over the course of nine years, Home Truth chronicles one family’s incredible pursuit of justice, shedding light on how our society responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence can linger through generations. Discussion with filmmakers April Hayes & Katia Maguire, film subject Jessica Lenahan, Carrie Bettinger-Lopez, former White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, and Lenora Lapidus, Director, ACLU Women’s Rights Project. Moderated by Amanda Klasing, HRW.

Home Truth provides an insight into the unspeakable damage domestic violence wreaks, and the difficult road faced by women who dare seek accountability from the government, often at a heartbreaking personal cost.

—Amanda Klasing, senior researcher, Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

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