Women of War-The Documentary

Community News — By Bernard Samms on May 21, 2013 at 2:43 am

Los Angeles- Shari Belafonte, actress, photographer and spokesperson for the Lili Claire Foundation, served as host at a reception in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, May 15.  The event kicked off the launch of a documentary called “Women of War.” The documentary sheds light on the alarmingly high statistics of sexual assault in the U.S. military. Proceeds of the benefit went to The Military Rape Crisis Center. Sheyna Gee, Melissa Mishele, Alice Wallace, Mariah Wilson and Kimbra Westervelt were amongst those that performed their live and original songs. Kat Hawks, of the American Ballet of Los Angeles was one of several luminaries that attended the event.

Recognizing the problem is the first step towards finding solutions.

The statistics on sexual assault in the military is at an all-time high. One-third of women in the military said they were sexually harassed, a number 500% higher than their male counterparts, according to the latest Pentagon survey. The data was compiled by the Defense Manpower Data Center from a survey of 24,000 service members.

In 2010, nearly 2700 sexual assaults were reported by people in uniform. But the looming question remains, how many were not reported? From a recent investigation, 80% of sexual assaults in the military are NOT reported so how many women in our military are being sexually harassed, assaulted and traumatized and more importantly, why is the military not doing more to protect them?

Since the beginning of the war in Iraq sexual assaults in the military jumped nearly 40% by 2005 and another 24% on top of that in 2006.

About the Documentary:

“Women of War” (WOW) is a sometime tender, sometimes brutal look at the pride and pain that America’s female fighting force encounters when they choose to charge front and center in some of America’s most horrific battles. It also examines how PTSD manifests itself differently in women and questions why little is being done to reduce the accelerating rates of homelessness, substance abuse, divorce and suicide among America’s bravest women.

Produced by the filmmakers of the award winning 2009 documentary “Who Will Stand” “Women of War” will examine what strides have been made since their “Who Will Stand” first brought these relatively unknown issues to the American public.

If you’d like to attend the reception, contact: Norma Dalke at 310-993-8583

or e-mail debhayterpr@aol.com.

Documentary Launch

Wednesday, May 22

12:30 Red Carpet

1:00 Wine & Cheese Reception

2:00 PM Film Screening

Beverly Hills, CA