127,258 rape incidents were reported to police in 2018 alone according to a report by the Uniform Crime Report (2019). Different studies have found out that 15-20 percent of women in the United States have been victims of rape at least once in their lifetime (Planty, Langton, Krebs, Berzofsky & Smiley-McDonald, 2013). While these statistics may be shocking already, the actual rape prevalence could be much higher, considering that most rape incidents go unreported. Rape is one of the most extreme forms of gendered violence; other forms of gendered violence include gender intimidation, sexual harassment, and hostile environments (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019). Gendered violence among civilian populations may attract the attention of the media and law enforcement agencies, but what about gendered violence within the military? The Invisible War documentary opens the lid on gross gendered violence in the military, an issue often overlooked by the mainstream media. The same cultural and systemic factors that perpetuate gendered violence in civilian institutions promote gendered violence in the military, but gendered violence in the military is exacerbated by limited channels of redress.
The Invisible War features emotional accounts of victims of gendered violence in the military. From descriptions of brutal rape to revelations of how high- ranking officers in the military cover-up rape incidents, the documentary exposes the gravity of the gendered violence menace in the military. But it is not the only report exposing the gendered violence problem in the military. Several Department of Defense studies show that more than 90 percent of female cadets are victims of different forms sexism (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019). “A female soldier is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire” (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.). The cultural and systemic factors that perpetuate gendered violence are normalization of gendered violence, fear of reprisals for reporting rape incidents, downplaying of rape incidents by investigative bodies, blaming of victims, and cover-up by institutions to protect their image.
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The statistics discussed earlier paint a picture of a society that has normalized gender violence. The normalization of gender violence has its roots in culture and the ineptitude of those who have the responsibility of managing gendered violence. In The Invisible War , most perpetrators are men, and most of the victims are women. Societal norms that assign different roles to men and women, and legitimize the use of force and violence cannot be absolved from blame. For instance, gender norms portray men as powerful, violent, and aggressive while women are seen as less powerful and submissive.
With these societal norms in place, it is no surprise that one general views women as sexual objects as narrated in The Invisible War : "Female marines here are nothing but objects for the marines to fuck" (Dick, 2013). Rape, being an extreme form of gender violence, may not be as normalized as quid pro quo and gender intimidation. Quid pro quo in the context of gender violence entails the use of professional rewards and punishments to get sexual favors from subordinates (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019). This has been normalized to the extent that some people believe that successful women must have granted sexual favors somewhere in their career paths. In The Invisible War, a female officer narrates: “At marine barracks in Washington was horrible. Um, people asked me what sexual favors had I performed to get my orders there?” (Dick, 2013).
Most rape cases go unreported; some of the main reasons why rape victims do not report are fear of reprisals and the likelihood of being blamed for the rape. It is ironic that the same society that views women as powerless and submissive also piles the blame of them when they are victims of sexual assaults. “If a man gets accused of rape, it is a setup — the woman's lying” (Dick, 2013). There have been cases of false rape accusations in the past, but that is no justification for throwing out genuine claims. Blaming gendered violence victims, especially women, could be seen as a form of gender intimidations. It builds on the culture of making sexist remarks that is evident in every-day conversations. Fixmer-Oraiz and Wood (2019) remark that one of the most common forms of gender violence is sexist public comments regarding women’s dressing and appearance. If society treats certain modes of dressing as invitations to have sex, it is less likely to have sympathy for rape victims who had dressed in that manner. In The Invisible War , a female soldier reveals: “men determined that I welcomed the sexual harassment by wearing my regulation length uniform skirt and running in running short” (Dick, 2013) . The habit of blaming rape victims stems from such beliefs.
Besides cultural factors, systemic factors such as the need to protect an institution's image and limited redress options are to blame for gendered violence in America. For instance, many reported rape incidents in schools are not taken seriously, and the victims are discouraged from pursuing them (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019). Further, almost 95 percent of victims of rape in schools do not report the cases because their institutions do not support them (Fixmer-Oraiz & Wood, 2019). The situation in the military is worse; the people expected to serve justice to gender violence victims are the perpetrators (Dick, 2013). Unlike civilian victims who can go straight the court, victims of gendered violence in the military have limited redress options. An investigation goes through several command levels before reaching the court-martial. Of the reported cases, less half reach the court-martial, and those who are found guilty are given minor punishments (Dick, 2013). That shows how difficult it is for gender violence victims to get justice in both military and civilian institutions.
In summary, there are many forms of gender violence, ranging from gender intimidation to rape. Seeing as gendered violence in the military is rarely reported due to the clandestine nature of military affairs, The Invisible War exposes a gendered violence menace within the military. Gendered violence in the military is exacerbated by the fact that the victims have limited redress options. Gendered violence in military and civilian institutions is cultivated by both cultural and systemic factors.
References
Dick, Kirby, director. Documentary Tube , 2013, www.documentarytube.com/videos/the-invisible-war .
Fixmer-Oraiz, N., & Wood, J. T. (2019). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Planty, M., Langton, L., Krebs, C., Berzofsky, M., & Smiley-McDonald, H. (2013). Female victims of sexual violence, 1994-2010 (pp. 3-4). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d). The Invisible War . Retrieved November 19, 2019, from Public Broadcasting Service: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/invisible-war/
Uniform Crime Report. (2019). 2018 Crime in the United States. Retrieved November 19, 2019, from Uniform Crime Report: Gendered Violence in Military and Civilian Institutions.
