Today, a female soldier serving in the US army is more likely to be raped than killed or injured by enemy fire. An estimated 30 percent of servicewomen and at least one percent of servicemen are sexually assaulted during their enlistment; not by the enemy, but by fellow soldiers. Most victims keep quiet in the absence of recourse outside the chain of command. In many cases the person they were obliged to report the assault to was either involved or friends with the assailant.
The Invisible War, by Oscar and Emmy-nominated director Kirby Dick and Emmy-nominated producer Amy Ziering, reveals the extent of sexual assault in the armed forces and investigates the institutions that cover it up.
Interviews with retired and active service members, scholars and legal experts paint an alarming picture of the extent of the problem today. It is the emotional testimonies of victims, conducted by Ziering that form the core of the documentary, and show the profound personal and social consequences of these acts.
Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award
Directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering
Duration: 95
Year: 2011
What has been achieved in Afghanistan and Iraq and, ten years on, what could be learnt from the Arab Spring about change in the region? 5 months into a new campaign in Libya, is it time that we reassess our involvement in the Arab world?
]]>As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks we will be bringing together a panel of experts to discuss the “war on terror” that was launched by the United States government in their wake.
What has been achieved in Afghanistan and Iraq and, ten years on, what could be learnt from the Arab Spring about change in the region? Less than five months into a new campaign in Libya, is it time that we reassess our involvement in the Arab world?
We will also be examining the doctrine of counterinsurgency – or COIN – that was advocated so strongly in both Afghanistan and Iraq and asking what lessons can be learnt that could shape future policy.
Chaired by David Loyn, BBC’s international development correspondent
With:
Frank Ledwidge, served in the Balkan wars and Iraq as a military intelligence officer and in Afghanistan as a civilian advisor. Former lecturer at the RAF College, Cranwell and author of Losing Small Wars: British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jean MacKenzie, senior correspondent for GlobalPost and former program director for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting in Kabul. She has reported from Afghanistan since 2004 and written extensively about the war. She is currently working on a chapter on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan for a book project being sponsored by NYU.
Malte Roschinski, security consultant, political analyst and author based in Germany. As journalist with AFP news agency, he reported from post-Taliban Afghanistan in late 2001. Lived for eight months in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, working as intelligence analyst for clients in the humanitarian sector.
]]>