Documentary unveils rape in US military with testimonials

Documentary unveils rape in US military with testimonials
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 2, 2012

A new feature film documentary is winning festival awards and garnering national attention for its in-depth focus on the thousands of women raped every year within the U.S. military.

The makers of “The Invisible War” solicited personal stories from victims and interviewed about 70 for hours each.

At one point in the theatrical trailer, one woman, Kori Cioca, who says she was raped by her supervisor in the U.S. Coast Guard, brandished a hand knife with a blade longer than her fingers, explaining how she carries it on her at all times.

“You always have protection with Jesus but sometimes you need just a little bit more,” said Cioca, who was also holding a metal cross.

According to the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response report for 2011, of the 2,617 reported assaults, it is estimated that the figure represents only 14 percent of all actual offenses, making the total number of victims at 19,000 last year.

Of the 2011 sexual assaults, 191 military members were convicted as courts-martial, according to the film’s website.
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