Monday, February 4, 2013

The Invisible War

I really want to see this movie. I know it's going to piss me off royally, but I still want to see it. And after researching things like this, I can't even find it in me to be skeptical about the movie's accuracy, based on what's in the trailer. If so many in Congress will help government contractors in the field (i.e., mercenaries working for the US government) cover up rapes, when these are just hired hands and not sworn troops, how can we imagine that the US Military would not do whatever it could to cover up a plague of rapes within its own ranks? What a scandal! Of course they'd cover it up, for the same reason the the Catholic Church covered up its child molestors for so long, the same reason Penn State covered up for Jerry Sandusky for so long. The authorities think that the scandal to themselves and their institution is worse than the horror of what the victims are put through.

Apologists claim that some significant number of women who report being raped are lying for whatever reason. Some radical wingnuts claim that most women who report a rape are lying. The fact is that even today, in the 21st century, enough women who report being raped are treated horribly -- during the report, during the investigation, during the trial if there is one, and sometimes even afterwards by their friends, families, co-workers -- that most women who are raped have to think long and hard about reporting it for fear of being traumatized all over again, and many never do.

This looks like a good movie. I hope it draws some attention to the issue.

Angie

PS -- of course, men are raped too. It's just as horrible for them, and the social pressure against reporting a rape is just as strong for men, if for different reasons. Most people who are raped are women, though, so that's where most of the problem is. If there are men in the military being raped by their fellow soldiers, I hope someone makes a movie about that as well. Any nest of vipers needs to be hit with a flamethrower, no matter who's being bitten.

3 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Horrendous. I can almost understand how people want to ignore or diminish such events. What does it say about us as a people that we can do such things, and then tolerate them? And yet, if we are ever going to change anything we have to face them openly and without turning away. It brings tears to my eyes.

Charles Gramlich said...

Yesterday I also read of some guy in the middle east who tortured and raped his own young daughter and admitted it. He was given a stiff fine. The rage I feel at such things seems too much to be contained.

Angie said...

Charles -- agreement on all points. It says horrendous things about us as a people that this is even a problem in our society, but it would be even more horrendous if we just covered our eyes and ignored it.

About the guy in the Middle East, women are valued even less there (as awful as that is to think about) so I'm unfortunately not surprised, either at his action or at the ridiculously light punishment. :/

Angie