The Invisible War

A Disturbing And Shocking Examination Of Sexual Assault And Systemic Cover-Up
Filmmaker Kirby Dick made, arguably, one of my favorite documentaries with his thrilling expose of the movie ratings board (MPAA) in "This Film Is Not Yet Rated." Clearly, he is not adverse to challenging the status quo and asking the probing and provocative questions that help to define an issue. This unblinking gaze is turned onto the horrific subject of sexual assault and cover-up within the military in the eye-opening, unpleasant, and powerful "The Invisible War." And the result may leave you quite stunned and disturbed. This is certainly not a new topic, I've heard about quite a few individual cases through the years. But the quantity of these events might just surprise you and Dick uses the government's own internal statistics to support his claims. Here's a couple of examples: about 20% of women in the armed services have endured some type of sexual assault (these are just reported numbers as well) and men entering service are 15% more likely to have sexual assault in their...

A shocking documentary that made a difference - when the Secretary of Defense watched it.
To realize how timely this documentary is, I watched the DVD last night and on this morning National new on ABC-TV was a story that charges were being brought in San Francisco this week on multiple sexual assaults on women in the armed forces in San Francisco. As you will learn (among many astounding facts in this 97-minute documentary) if you watch it (and you should), no cases of these sexual assaults were brought to conviction until this past Spring (2012) when Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta watched the film and changed the rules as to who had power to make decisions in these cases.

Director Kirby Dick is best known for his Oscar-nominated film on the Motion Picture Rating Board, but this film covers an even more serious topic.

The fact that the Department of Defense estimates that 20% (!) of all females in the Armed Services have been raped will probably astound the average American. But Dick has the proof. Though at least 20 women (and, a few men - yes,...

A strong call-to-action
I'd encourage everyone to go see the film if it plays nearby. I've been reading up about it but the actual film is even more powerful. The systemic injustice suffered by these men and women is horrific. The military seems like a very hostile workplace. And it scares me to realize that the perpetrators, who often go scot-free or even promoted, may one day mix amongst us civilians without our knowing. They could create new victims in workplaces and in our neighborhoods. I am glad that the Secretary of Defense is taking some steps to improve the process, but more needs to be done. Kudos to Kirby Dick and his team for bringing this important issue to our attention.

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