Recent Posts
- Album Review: DJ Unwind – Épais (Downtempo/Trip Hop)
- New Artist: Sevyn Streeter – “I Like It” (Video)
- You Should Know: Andreya Triana (Video Interview/Soul Bounce)
- Black Cab Sessions: Solange performing “Bad Girls”
- New Album Releases: May 7, 2013
- You Should Know: Onra (Video Interview/The Daily Motive)
- New Video: Janelle Monae & Erykah Badu – “Q.U.E.E.N.”
- New Album Release: April 23, 2013
- New Video: Leonard Friend – “Every Woman”
- New Album Releases: April 9, 2013
Upcoming Album Releases
Categories
Archives
OP-ED: “The Invisible War” made visible: Investigative film about rape in the U.S. armed forces
The Invisible War is a groundbreaking film highlighting rape in the U.S. military and how nothing is truly being done to prosecute the rapists. Released last month at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, to which it won The Audience Award for best documentary, director-screenwriter Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering examines the epidemic, telling the story of several women (and men), and why so few cases are ever sent to trial.
I served in the Air Force for eight years and have been in the Army Reserve for a year now. Over the last 12 months alone, I’ve attended almost monthly trainings on sexual harassment not only from my Reserve unit in New York, but in several classes during a two-month training session in Missouri. Over the last several years, the onslaught of rape cases has pushed the military into high gear about educating troops on this rising epidemic. But is it enough?
According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) only 20% of servicewomen report sexual assaults to a military or civilian authority, but in a recent article with the New York Daily News, more than 19,000 military men and women were sexually assaulted by fellow troops in 2010, while serving in the armed forces. It’s disheartening to hear. I remember last year asking a Lieutenant Colonel [high-ranking military official] who was giving a speech on the topic as to why the numbers were so extreme and why more people aren’t coming forward. And to be honest and with respect to his rank, he didn’t have a definitive answer.
The Invisible War possibly puts it in perspective, of the more than 108,000 veterans who screened positive for Military Sexual Trauma in 2010, 45.7% were men. What keeps the men from reporting their cases seems to be rampant disassociation, shame and homophobia. But I would also say a fear for their careers and families keep them from coming forward as well.
DoD sexual assault statistics are derived from sexual contact crimes committed by adults against adults, as defined by the Uniform Code of Military Justice or the military judicial system. These crimes include rape, aggravated sexual assault, non-consensual sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact, wrongful sexual contact, and attempts to commit these offenses.
For as long as I can remember, the military has been a pillar of protection for men and women who choose to serve and protect their country. As military members we are constantly flooded with memos and training initiatives on the zero-tolerance stance on sexual assault within the ranks, so reading all of this data now is highly discomforting for me.
At the same time, I am glad to see that a film of this magnitude has been made. As I’m reading article after article on The Invisible War – and until I see it myself, I will have to agree with David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter who says that he does not think that Kirby Dick is trying to tarnish the image of the U.S. military. The film’s purpose is to simply shed light on a disturbing situation and to bring a sense of justice to the men and women in uniform that have been severely and unnecessarily affected.
