Sat, Apr 29
|Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at ArtsQuest
"#I am Vanessa Guillen" Screening, Panel Discussion, & Outreach Afternoon
Time & Location
Apr 29, 2023, 12:00 PM
Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at ArtsQuest, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
About the event
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Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving presents a screening, panel discussion, and outreach event for the film “#IAmVanessaGuillen: A Latina soldier fights to change the system that silenced her.”
The murder of Army soldier Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood military base hit too close to home for Karina Lopez. Two years after surviving sexual assault on the same base, she created a viral Facebook post with the hashtag #IamVanessaGuillen. Facing retaliation, she and other Latina soldiers have pushed forward as they fight for justice.
SYNOPSIS
Army soldier Karina Lopez survived a sexual assault at the Fort Hood military base in 2018. But two years later, Vanessa Guillen, another Latina soldier, disappeared and was murdered there. #IamVanessaGuillen chronicles Karina’s first time going public with her trauma, following other Latina military women who come forward demanding the end to abuse of active-duty soldiers and the right to justice.
Prosecutors and advocates say that the problem at Fort Hood has been widely known for years. Karina shared her story on social media using the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen. It quickly went viral, prompting others to speak up and make military sexual trauma more visible throughout the country. Through Karina’s case, other soldiers’ stories and expert voices, the #IamVanessaGuillen documentary film sheds light on the profound issues of racism, sexual violence and trauma that the military has historically neglected.
Most of the survivors featured in the film are Latina. They represent the Hispanic demographic which is now the fastest growing minority population in the U.S. military.