It is the most powerful and advanced military organization in history, but it is failing hundreds of thousands within its own ranks.
About half a million female soldiers in the US military have been raped, and military women in combat zones are now more likely to sexually assaulted by their fellow soldiers than killed by enemy fire.
It is this shameful and under-reported truth that award-winning filmmaker, Kirby Dick, explores in The Invisible War. Featuring personal interviews and footage, the film follows several survivors of sexual assault as they rebuild their lives and seek justice from an unyielding military system that promotes perpetrators and punishes victims of sexual violence.
We invite you to hear their stories at our film screening and panel discussion of The Invisible War on Friday November 28. The event will be held in room 4004 in the Social Sciences Building at the University of Ottawa. Doors will open at 5:30pm and the screening will start at 6:00pm. Please note that space is limited, so guests are encouraged to arrive early!
Following the screening, a panel including Noémi Mercier, author of a recent exposé on sexual violence within the Canadian military published by L’actualité and Maclean’s magazine, Julie S. Lalonde, founder of Hollaback! Ottawa and developer of bystander intervention project Draw the Line, and moderator Caitlin Maxwell, feminist lawyer and researcher of sexual violence in the Canadian military, will discuss issues of sexual violence in Canada’s military and communities, and participate in a Q&A.
Opening remarks will be made by Colonel (Ret’d) Michel W. Drapeau, lawyer, professor and former Director, National Defence Headquarters Secretariat and Secretary, Armed Forces Council.
The event is free and open to the public. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates.
This event will be co-hosted by the WPSN-C and the University of Ottawa’s School of International Development and Global Studies as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.
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