Sexual assault scandals in the military are nothing new: Tailhook 1991; Aberdeen Proving Ground 1996; Air Force Academy 2003. Who knew, though, that in the 21 years since Tailhook that the problem of women in the military being assaulted by their fellow soldiers has grown to the extent that 20% of female veterans have been sexually assaulted while serving? This is not “don’t ask, don’t tell”.
This involves coverup of criminal activity across all branches of the military—Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard—perpetrated by rapists who stalk their prey, waiting to attack when the victim is most vulnerable. And then what? In the civilian system victims of sexual assault go to the police and an independent justice system addresses the crime. In the military, victims have been required to report the crime to their commanding officer—which, in 25% of cases meant reporting the crime to the rapist!
The Invisible War tells the story of women—and men—from each branch of the military who have been victims of sexual assault and how it has destroyed their lives. Many of the victims come from military families where they were encouraged to serve, couldn’t wait to sign up, looked at their fellow soldiers as ‘brothers’ only to find the bond of trust smashed by a violent assault which wounded them to their inner soul. When the rapists are not held accountable by the military authorities who sweep the problem under the rug, they leave the service—not on the sex offender registry—to go into our neighborhoods across the country free to commit the crime of rape again and again since the average sex offender is estimated to have 300 victims in a lifetime!
It’s long past time for the closed system of the military—which provides a target rich environment for predators—to open up and confront the problem of sexual assault head-on. How should that be done? Removing responsibility for the decision from commanding officers to prosecute these cases is a step in the right direction. Preventing the assaults in the first place would be better and that means alerting new recruits to the potential problem. It means screening out predators. It means not assigning a woman to be the sole female in a section. It means not expecting victims to “deal better with being raped” but to hold rapists accountable for their crimes.
The Invisible War is a gripping, emotional documentary. See it.
http://streamingforchange.org/2012/08/the-invisible-war/#comment-2
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