As much as we all love and honor our men and women in uniform, there is a dark secret within the military that no one wants to talk about.
It’s the rampant sexual abuse of personnel — both men and women — perpetrated by predators who, for the most part, are getting away with their crimes. It’s estimated that 19,000 men and women in the service are sexually assaulted or raped each year. Eighty-six percent of these assaults are never reported. Of those that are reported, only five percent are ever tried, and only a few are convicted.
“The Invisible War” is a documentary that profiles a handful of victims with the courage to come forward. These are people who have been largely ignored by their chain of command — either because the higher-ups are friends of the predators, or because they are the predators themselves.
Most importantly, this is not an anti-military movie, but a wake-up call to an honored institution that should do everything in its power to address and stop these heinous crimes.
Hopefully, by shedding light on it, something will be done. “The Invisible War,” which won the Audience Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, should not be missed.