Kori Cioca, was raped by her supervisor in the Coast Guard. Kori Cioca, was raped by her
supervisor in the Coast Guard. That night, she broke her jaw because of a hit
to the face. Kori's story shows how the military ignores the pleas of those
assaulted. Kori left the Coast Guard shy of two years, because of this she was
not able to get coverage for her injuries. Even with x-rays, the VA doctors
refused to document that Kori had in fact broken her jaw, which resulted in
damage to her nerves because it was left untreated leaving Kori unable to eat a
solid diet. 20% of all women, 18-21year olds accounting for half of those
incidents reported, in the military are raped during their service.
Of course it is not simply a women's problem, as men are also raped in the
military. The documentary expressed that the biggest problem for rape victims
is the hierarchical system. The victim has to report the rape to a superior,
which in most cases is the perpetrator. Ariana Klay,was raped after being
promoted to the most prestigious military posts, at the Marine Barracks in
Washington, D.C. In her account, she describes a college frat like atmosphere,
where everyone was forced to go out and drink at multiple bars after their
shift. If someone refused to drink while at the bar they were sanctioned and
forced to drink more. The most shocking part of her story was that despite her
service in Iraq and her high ranking, no one stepped in to help her. Ariana
planned on making her military service a career, until that night. Ariana's
husband was interviewed and cried when he recalled how he was unable to help
her- showing just how rape does not only affect the victim, but the family as
well. Trina McDonald was drugged and raped repeatedly at her Naval base in
Alaska. She tells of being unable to even tell her dad what happened, when she
pleaded to come home, because the phone lines were being listened to by the men
who had raped her. I cannot imagine being stationed as the only girl, in an
isolated post and then having to face your rapists everyday without any
justice. Trina's story showed the affects of PTSD. She had become depressed
after the rape, and was still grappling with the affects years after. The son
of Trina's partner said, "I'm sorta sad to not have known Trina before
hand when she was in her prime. Now she's anxious and sad a lot." Trina
stated, "A lot of times when we are out doing something, Mitch will be
like checking in like 'It's okay Trina. it's alright.' I appreciative of it but
it makes me really sad that here's this little eleven year old boy that's
watching out for my well being. It hurts. I want it to go away and it doesn't
go away." Women who have been raped have a higher rate of PTSD then
men in combat. At the end of the documentary, when asked if they would
recommend the military to a woman, all those interviewed said no. It was
understood that by joining, one would be accepting rape as a part of the deal.
Hyper-masculinity, displayed in recruiting videos, is encourage in the military
culture - so it seems sexual assault is apart of that culture. Unfortunately
the military is losing more than it is gaining by not standing by these victims
who come forward. For all the victims that do choose to report the attack,
there are many more who do not because of the fear of sanctions and not being
taken seriously. Ariana describes how she was told she deserved it because she
wore running shorts. Even though President Obama is taking a step by including
this issue in his commencement address, there is an enormous amount of work to
be down to insure the safety of all those in the military. They are giving
their lives for us, why can we not protect them from sexual assault? http://www.notinvisible.org
"[Referring to rape] It already is bigger than everything else. it lives in front of me, behind me, next to me, inside me every single day. My schedule is dictated by it, my habits by it, my music by it. " - Daisy Whitney, The Mockingbirds
"...in my wildest, most indulgent dreams, we only hear about sexual assault and abuse in history books." Lisa Factora- Borchers
