Compelling Documentary “The Invisible War” Deals With Rape in the U.S. Military

The documentary “The Invisible War” shown at Sundance 2012 is a powerful film about the high incidence of rape in the U.S. military -- rape that often goes unchallenged and unpunished.

While there are numerous chilling statistics in this compelling documentary, for me perhaps the most disturbing statement is this:

Women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who've been in combat.

According to the article “Military Rape Documentary ‘Invisible War’ Leads to Policy Changes Before Its Opening” by Steve Pond in thewrap.com:

In April, Secretary of Defense Panetta viewed the film -- and two days later, according to [documentary producer Amy] Ziering, he held a press conference to announce changes in the military's policy toward the prosecution of rapes.

But while the filmmakers welcome the change, both Ziering and [director Kirby] Dick say it isn't enough. “By moving the decision up but leaving it in the chain of command, a lot of the problems that you get at the unit commander level still exist,” Dick said.

As many of you know, in the last four years I have written extensively about PTSD suffered by our military personnel. Given that the attacks on these women (and men) were perpetuated in many cases by personnel in their own units, the sense of betrayal can make the PTSD even more overwhelming.

Read the entire thewrap.com story now -- and then consider how you might help right this terrible wrong.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS. Phyllis is the co-founder of the marketing consulting company Miller Mosaic LLC. Click here to visit Phyllis' Amazon author page.

New Afghan Law Makes It Legal for Husbands to Rape Their Wives

"A new Afghan law makes it legal for men to rape their wives, rights groups said." This news blurb was carried on the front page of the April 3rd Wall Street Journal.

My immediate thought was: That's one reason we're in Afghanistan -- to try to stamp out this oppressive male-dominated society.

My second thought was about the April 1st interview of Eldonna Lewis Fernandez on the BlogTalkRadio Show www.YourMilitaryLife.com that I co-host with Nancy Brown of www.YourMilitary.com.

Eldonna retired from the Air Force as a master sergeant and is now working with women to empower them. You can read Eldonna's January 23rd guest post about her military experiences and the book HEART OF A WOMAN, which she is co-authoring. (The deadline for submission of essays by military women has been extended to April 20th.)

Yet it's Eldonna's life experiences -- how she was raped more than once while in the military -- and how she finally got help (she suffered PTSD from these experiences and her abusive childhood) that offer the inspiration for women -- and the reminder of how wrong this new Afghan law is.

Listen to the interview now of Eldonna Lewis Fernandez.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.