Regarding sexual assault, what we have heard most is in an office or school environment. Leaders to subordinates or professors to students often use their power to coerce and induce victims. The high visibility is also a country with extremely low status of women like India. However, what is not known is that in the US military system, covert sexual assaults are so common that they are surprisingly common, but they are rarely mentioned.
In fact, tens of thousands of women and even men in public offices such as the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and even the police have been sexually assaulted, and most criminals have not been punished. The reason is simple, because sexual assault is a very sensitive scandal for the military, and even related to the image of the country. High-level military officials were unwilling to expose such incidents, and most of the victims had to swallow their anger due to intimidation and fear of public careers. Many people suffer from depression and even try to commit suicide. In the documentary "The Hidden War" , several victims bravely stepped forward to expose this little-known dark side of the U.S. military——
Hidden war
The Invisible War
Director: Kobe Dick Screenplay: Kobe Dick/Amy Zellin/Douglas Brash Starring: Amy Zellin/Kobe Dick/Kori Cioca Release date: 2012-01-20 (USA) Length: 93 minutes
The film won the 2012 San Diego Film Critics Association's Best Documentary Award and the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary Award. Although the youth culture in the American media often ridicules the country and the government, in fact, most young Americans have patriotic feelings that are not inferior to their peers in other countries. Many people yearn for a career in the military, and it is a supreme honor to be a soldier to serve the country. Many girls even hope to strengthen themselves by joining the army.
The media broadcasted short films propagating conscription have repeatedly emphasized that as long as you are good enough, both men and women can join the army.
Many girls join the army with patriotic enthusiasm, but they don’t know that what awaits them is the humiliation and the shadow of a lifetime... Kori has loved watching military movies since he was a child and wanted to join the navy, but the navy only has one replenishment throughout the year. List. When she heard that the Coast Guard could join within one month after signing up, she happily went there.
After enlisting, Kori was stationed in the Saginaw River in Michigan, where she was the only woman. At that time, a supervisor sexually harassed Kori many times, and Kori also reported the matter by skipping the ranks many times, only to ignore it.
Once the supervisor forcibly broke into Kori's room with the intention of being unruly, Kori was beaten by him after resisting. Kori reported the incident again, but was still only asked to wait for processing.
Finally, when Kori returned to the office to retrieve the keys, he was raped by the supervisor.
Jessica Hinves went to college and originally had a good job in a vineyard in eastern Texas. She also bought a small house, which made her life worry-free. But for her from a military family, joining the army has always been an ideal. Under the influence of military families, Jessica Hinves often tells herself that joining the army is the duty and responsibility of every citizen.
She finally joined the U.S. Air Force as she wished, but she was raped.
Hannah was born in a military family. Her father and brother are both soldiers, and her father has always been a hero in Hannah's heart. So she naturally followed in the footsteps of her family and joined the U.S. Navy.
However, one day, Hannah's father received a call saying that she had been raped.
Hannah was also injured as a result, resulting in a loss of mobility. Hannah later went through three investigations, each time being pushed around by various investigators like a football. In the end, I simply said that the material evidence was lost.
After graduating from high school, Trina McDonald from a small town wanted to see the world, so she joined the navy.
Just two months later, Trina was raped after being anaesthetized in the infirmary.
The most desperate thing is that it is the law enforcement personnel who violated her. In the closed environment of the military, it can be said that there is no way to complain.
According to a statistics in 1991, 200,000 women in the US military have been sexually assaulted. Others have been violated without reporting because they may be subject to extreme retaliation that lasts for a long time. So women really suffer sexual abuse, you may be able to be two times that figure!
According to a report from the Ministry of National Defense, in 2009, a total of 3,230 people reported sexual assault, and 80% of those who were assaulted did not report it. Counting this down, 16,150 people have already been violated. Even more surprising is that some men in the military have also become victims of sexual assault.
Since there are far more men in the army than women, it is conceivable that the number of men who have been violated will be even more alarming.
Michael joined the U.S. Air Force when he was 19 years old. He never thought that he would become a victim of sexual assault-one day he was knocked unconscious on the way to the cafeteria by himself, and then assaulted. In an army that highly emphasizes masculinity, many men have to choose to remain silent when encountering such a thing. Michael kept this secret for 30 years.
Because of the homophobic atmosphere in the male world, the mental shock caused by this kind of thing on the victims is more complicated. They are ashamed to mention this kind of experience to others and worry about being regarded as homosexual by others.
However, according to the survey, almost all rapists are heterosexual men, and homosexuals are not the perpetrators. This is not about sexual orientation, but about violence.
Many victims have no courage to report after encountering such violations, and even those who have the courage to report are often prevaricated and rejected by various reasons. Some were questioned as pranks.
Some were found to be insufficient evidence.
Some have been slandered as voluntary adultery.
Faced with so much darkness and injustice, the military leaders have their own rhetoric. It seems that they have a sound department to investigate such incidents.
They also claimed that all sexual assault incidents will be investigated and dealt with.
However, some insiders denied this argument, believing that many times such incidents were handled hastily, and then told the victims "forget it."
And usually such cases are not handed over to female investigators, because female investigators are more likely to empathize with victims.
If you are a U.S. citizen who has been raped, you can call the police, and the prosecutor will lead you to bring the prisoner to justice. The military is different. They have their own administrative management system, just like playing football by themselves and be referees.
In the military justice system, the commander has the final say, and the commander has the supreme discretion.
This is extremely detrimental to the victims. When such incidents occur, what people hope is to follow legal procedures like non-military systems, and a non-partial and fair legal system.
When the military handles rape cases, it is hoped that major issues will be reduced to minor issues.
What's ridiculous is that the measures they take to reduce sexual assault are "propaganda", and they have invested a lot of money to produce a lot of posters and posters.
However, posters cannot prevent sexual crimes. This so-called measure is more like external propaganda-"Look, our army also attaches great importance to the phenomenon of sexual crimes." However, it has no real effect and cannot protect the victims.
Many victims suffer from sexually transmitted diseases and depression. The survey results show that most of the victims have attempted suicide. Such encounters left them in pain for the rest of their lives and were not treated fairly.
After the female soldiers who had experienced injuries retired, they felt that joining the army was the worst decision of their lives. Serving the country is great, and soldiers are also honorable. But if it hurts you, is it your comrades-in-arms and the hero you once thought? Many people who come over do not recommend girls to join the army. They even come forward excitedly to persuade her not to go when they hear the girl next to the table want to join the army when they eat in the restaurant. Although not every girl who joins the army will be raped, we can see the shadow and harm this incident has caused them.
As far as the country is concerned, the solemn image of a soldier must not be implicated in the rape. Therefore, such scandals will inevitably be suppressed and sometimes even deliberately ignored. Soldiers have been in a closed environment for a long time. Is sex crime in the army a common phenomenon? Are there such crimes in other countries, but the data has not been made public? This documentary at least allows people to see the dark side of the American military. The sad thing is that all this is happening in a country that advertises freedom and democracy. This can also be said to be a great irony.
*Author of this article: RAMA
View more about The Invisible War reviews
