The armed forces had to integrate after centuries of racial exclusion, and many people argue that it did a better job of that than, say, our public education systems. A slightly strange item in the production notes on the film’s website has director Kirby Dick comparing the military’s anti-racism efforts to its lack of action on rape. Putting proposed remedies through a () may help with that. I hope that advocates working on this issue take into account additional or just different barriers faced by women of color.

I bet women of color are disproportionately affected by sexual assault, as they were by Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and, as we reported earlier this week, by homelessness when they return stateside as veterans. I do know that thousands of young women of color join the military every year it isn’t possible that they could escape a fate that affects so many soldiers. I don’t know why that is, and I won’t speculate. The film itself features no women of color among the major protagonists. Their failure to do so is unforgivable, in a time when a woman is more likely to be raped by an American soldier than killed by enemy fire. As tough as it is to witness, though, it has to be harder to live, and more witnesses are clearly needed to pressure military leaders to act. It is just really hard to watch one after another woman tell us how she was assaulted, how authorities failed to protect her both before and after the attack, and how post-traumatic stress disrupts every attempt to rebuild her life. I was struck by the sense of betrayal as well as violation that too many women, and a smaller number of men, encounter when they sign up to protect the national interest. Watching clips from the film last fall, I found the experience harrowing. The documentary '()' premiered last week at Sundance, and it is already bringing much needed attention to the problem of rape in the military.

Invisible movie 2012