All four male actors asked to appear naked in the film, to remove awkwardness or embarrassment about their own nudity, and to show solidarity for Camille Keaton who spends much of the film nude.
The scar on the left side of Jennifer's face is real, the result of a car accident in Camille Keaton's youth. In the post-trauma scenes, the make-up artist exaggerated it. In the opening and closing scenes, it was hidden under a thin layer of foundation.
The actors performed their own stunts. The production couldn't afford any stunt people.
Meir Zarchi said he was inspired to make the film after helping a young woman who had been raped. He said he, a friend, and his daughter were driving by a park when they saw a young woman crawl, bloodied and naked, out of the bushes. They picked the girl up, took his daughter back home, and talked with the friend about whether they should take her to the hospital or the police. They decided to take her to the police first. The officer, who Zarchi described as "not fit to wear the uniform," insisted she answer questions about her assailants before she went to the hospital, even though her jaw was broken and she could barely talk. Finally, Zarchi insisted to the officer that they take her to the hospital right away. He later found out the girl was attacked while taking a common shortcut to meet with her boyfriend. Soon afterward the girl's father sent Zarchi a letter of thanks for helping his daughter, and offered him a reward, which Zarchi turned down.
The film was originally released in 1978, with the title "Day of the Woman," and was poorly received at the box office. In 1980 distributor Jerry Gross renamed it "I Spit on Your Grave," after a 1959 French drama, and re-released it. This time it received more publicity, and became a key target of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's campaign against films featuring women in danger.