2011.05.11: May 11, 2011: Rape victims recount Peace Corps Trauma to Congress

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Congress Holds Hearings on Sexual Assault Date: May 15 2011 No: 1518 Congress Holds Hearings on Sexual Assault
Congress held hearings on the sexual assault of Peace Corps volunteers. Read the testimony of returned and current Peace Corps volunteers on how the problem is still ongoing, and not limited to any particular country or region. Director Williams says that "it has become apparent to me that the Peace Corps has not always been sufficiently responsive or sensitive to victims of crime and their families. I sincerely regret that." Read what the Peace Corps is doing to address the issue.


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Rape victims recount Peace Corps Trauma to Congress

Rape victims recount Peace Corps Trauma to Congress

The victims and their loved ones will never fully recover from the attacks that forever changed their life. "There will never be closure. It's a heartbreak every day," said Puzey. "But justice for her would be if legislation does come forward," for witness protection and victims rights, she said. Those who testified at Wednesday's hearing also voiced their ongoing support for the organization. "I wouldn't tell anyone not to join the Peace Corps," Puzey said. "I would tell them they need to be informed." She points to the importance of avoiding high-risk countries, and those where women may be treated as second-class citizens. Carol Clark said in her testimony, "I still believe in the Peace Corps. I believe in its mission. I believe in its premise: that with hard work and compassion, we can build a better world." Her sentiments were mirrored by Dr. Karestan Chase Koenen, a volunteer who was raped during her assignment to Niger in the early 1990s. She has since become an expert in stress-related mental disorders, and teaches at Columbia and Harvard universities. "I love the Peace Corps. I support the Peace Corps," she said. "I would be devastated if my testimony were to lead to stop Peace Corps funding." "What we want is a stronger, safer Peace Corps. What we need is legislation to cement the changes."

Rape victims recount Peace Corps Trauma to Congress

Rape victims recount Peace Corps 'trauma' to Congress

Wednesday - 5/11/2011, 4:09pm ET

Paul D. Shinkman, wtop.com

WASHINGTON -- Carol Clark's dream of joining the Peace Corps was fulfilled in 1984, when she accepted a posting to Nepal just three months after graduating from Wake Forest University.

The brutal sexual assaults the 22-year-old would experience in the following months would forever change her life, and would contribute to a congressional investigation into the "traumatic" practices of the organization more than 25 years later.

Upon arriving in her new host country, the rural North Carolina native's enthusiasm quickly turned to anxiety, as her Nepalese Peace Corps program director told the female volunteers they would have to have sex with him to receive their living supplement checks.

Clark reported this to her country director, but he did nothing, she said, and suggested she "grow thicker skin." She returned to her work under the local director, and began bringing a male fellow volunteer with her to collect her checks.

Three months later, Clark was raped by the director after a party in Kathmandu. She went straight to the Peace Corps medical officer the following morning and recounted the attack, only to be told he was "disgusted" with the volunteers and that anything that occurred was her fault.

She received no consoling, and no treatment.

When she found out she was pregnant with the attacker's child, she went back to the medical officer, who reported it to the country director and the Peace Corps headquarters in D.C. They responded she needed to determine immediately whether to terminate the pregnancy.

Clark made the decision to terminate, without any support from organization staff members or her family, and the Peace Corps flew her to Honolulu for the procedure.

Upon returning to Nepal under a new supervisor, her original local program director told others in town Clark's body was "free for the taking."

She was eventually attacked and raped again by a Nepalese official who worked as her local counterpart in the fisheries program.

That attack lasted for 15 hours.

---------------

Clark was one of three other returned Peace Corps volunteers who had been raped during their tours abroad, and testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. They were joined by Lois Puzey, whose daughter Kate was killed during her assignment to Benin, and whose story inspired the January ABC News' 20/20 investigation.

Their stories, while extreme, are not unique in the recent history of the Peace Corps, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

More than 1,000 volunteers have been reportedly raped or sexually assaulted between 1999 and 2009, according to Peace Corps data. The organization has sent more than 200,000 Americans abroad to 139 countries since its 1961 founding.

"We thought after 50 years that Peace Corps not only had in place all of the good things, the positive things, but that they had a strong support system when thing went wrong," Puzey said.

"In fact, that was the furthest thing from what happened."

Puzey, with her family, is following closely the investigation and trial of the Beninese man who allegedly slit her daughter's throat while she slept, even after she emailed to Peace Corps headquarters warning them of this man's potential risk. The alleged assailant's brother, who worked in the local Peace Corps headquarters, leaked information about Kate's message ultimately leading to her death, the family said.

The man is currently on trial in Benin, after two previous judges determined there was not enough evidence for the case.

---------------

The women who testified all felt they were not only assaulted by their attackers, but also had been betrayed by the organization that sent them abroad.

"The event itself was traumatic," said Clark, who added "the response of Peace Corps was the most traumatic because that was a violation of trust."

After the 15-hour attack, Clark escaped to Kathmandu where the Peace Corps medical officer was angry at her for putting herself in a dangerous situation, she said.

The Peace Corps eventually flew her home, and told her to say her departure was due to dysentery.

The counselor assigned to her was "cruel and judgemental," she said, and indicated she had a drug problem.

Working with a Workers Compensation representative at the Department of Labor, Clark was eventually recouped 80 percent of her medical bills after waiting several months.

The account of the organization's response to her attack was echoed by the other women who testified Wednesday. Many, including members of the committee, stressed the importance of a federal law mandating changes to the organization's safety practices.

This wouldn't be the first time Congress tried to enact legislation to protect volunteers. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., introduced the Volunteer Empowerment Act in 2007. The law would have provided additional support for both active and returned volunteers who had been attacked, and protection for those who alerted Peace Corps officials about abuses.

Lois Puzey points out that this legislation could have saved the life of her daughter, who left for Benin the same year it was introduced.

"I think that would have made a difference," she said.

Wednesday's hearing reinvigorated support on the Hill for reforming the safety practices of the Peace Corps.

"I think we have to look at whether we can codify protocols and procedures for the Peace Corps that makes sure these kinds of stories are never repeated," said Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a Foreign Affairs Committee member.

The reformations would be two fold, he said. The first is making sure volunteers are safe in the first place, and the second is providing "absolute compassionate care and service" to the victims and families when something does go wrong.

"That didn't happen in these cases, and that must never happen again."

---------------

Following the hearing, the House committee will determine if they will pursue a law that would put in place these protection and support reforms for the Peace Corps.

The organization, under Director Aaron S. Williams, is also pushing its own reforms, and has signed an agreement to collaborate and share resources with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a national anti-sexual violence group.

Williams apologized at the hearing for what he says is the organization's top priority: volunteers' health and safety.

The Peace Corps has outlined a set of core principles in its "Commitment to Sexual Assault Victims."

Williams discussed the importance of strengthening a full-time staff dedicated to responding to these kinds of abuses, and providing additional support to training, active and returned volunteers, aligned with the testimony from rape and assault survivors.

"Their stories are crucial to the Peace Corps as we move forward," he said. "I thank them for being so courageous to relive what they had to go through many years ago."

The Peace Corps will stop using a training video, Williams added, that some at Wednesday's hearing said makes volunteers feel the need to apologize for being assaulted.

RAINN Affiliate Service Director Jennifer Wilson Marsh also stressed at the hearing the importance of enacting congressional legislation for the Peace Corps, to provide stability amid personnel changes.

"We want to ensure that institutional knowledge regarding what is being done remains in place once the current Director and staff have left," Marsh said, according to her testimony.

---------------

The victims and their loved ones will never fully recover from the attacks that forever changed their life.

"There will never be closure. It's a heartbreak every day," said Puzey.

"But justice for her would be if legislation does come forward," for witness protection and victims rights, she said.

Those who testified at Wednesday's hearing also voiced their ongoing support for the organization.

"I wouldn't tell anyone not to join the Peace Corps," Puzey said. "I would tell them they need to be informed."

She points to the importance of avoiding high-risk countries, and those where women may be treated as second-class citizens.

Carol Clark said in her testimony, "I still believe in the Peace Corps. I believe in its mission. I believe in its premise: that with hard work and compassion, we can build a better world."

Her sentiments were mirrored by Dr. Karestan Chase Koenen, a volunteer who was raped during her assignment to Niger in the early 1990s. She has since become an expert in stress-related mental disorders, and teaches at Columbia and Harvard universities.

"I love the Peace Corps. I support the Peace Corps," she said. "I would be devastated if my testimony were to lead to stop Peace Corps funding."

"What we want is a stronger, safer Peace Corps. What we need is legislation to cement the changes."

Follow Paul D. Shinkman and WTOP on Twitter.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: May, 2011; Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams; Peace Corps Headquarters; Sexual Assault and Harassment; Congress; Legislation; Safety and Security of Volunteers





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Congress Holds Hearings on Sexual Assault Date: May 15 2011 No: 1518 Congress Holds Hearings on Sexual Assault
Congress held hearings on the sexual assault of Peace Corps volunteers. Read the testimony of returned and current Peace Corps volunteers on how the problem is still ongoing, and not limited to any particular country or region. Director Williams says that "it has become apparent to me that the Peace Corps has not always been sufficiently responsive or sensitive to victims of crime and their families. I sincerely regret that." Read what the Peace Corps is doing to address the issue.

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Story Source: WTOP

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Williams; HQ; SA; Congress; Legislation; Safety

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