Male Military Assault Victims Feel 'Betrayed' By Oscar-Nominated Doc The Invisible War
LatestBefore the major sexual assaults at Lackland Air Force Base were exposed, it was a long, silent slog for women in the military. But ever since, it’s been a banner year: abortion may be more readily insured, women like ex-Marine Sarah Anderson have come forward to let pundits have it for commenting that female officers in the military should “expect” to be raped. The Invisible War, a documentary dealing with military sexual assault, has been nominated for an Oscar. It looks like conditions are improving.
But two of the assault victims who appeared in The Invisible War say that director Kirby Dick should be “ashamed and embarassed” that most of their stories ended up on the cutting room floor. Specifically, Michael Matthews and Brian Lewis, who feel “betrayed” and “abandoned” by Dick, as well as the overall legislative and social attention being paid to female military assault victims (of the estimated 19,000 sex offense victims in the armed forces, 10,000—56%—are men and 9,000 women.) Lewis only has a 10-second soundbite in the film, and 5 minutes of the total 2-hour running time are devoted to male victims, none of whom are listed along with the six female victims on the documentary’s website.