2011.05.11: May 11, 2011: Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
Peace Corps Online:
Peace Corps News:
Library:
Peace Corps: Sexual Assault and Harassment:
Sexual Assault and Harassment: Newest Stories:
2011.05.11: May 11, 2011: Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
Today was not the first time concerns were raised about the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers. A report from 2002 by the Government Accountability Office noted that volunteers reported they had not been prepared for sexual harassment. Others told the GAO that they wished they had been given self-protection training. At that time 51% of volunteers reported sexual harassment. Former Peace Corps volunteers who were raped during their time in the field told the House Foreign Affairs Committee today that their training did not warn them of the possible dangers. They said the sexual assault prevention video "Serving Safely" shown during their training portrayed the victims as "apologetic" for being victims of assault.
Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
Posted by Laura Strickler
At a dramatic congressional hearing today, two former Peace Corps volunteers took the stand before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and recounted horrific stories of rapes they suffered while posted around the world. The former volunteers say that the Peace Corps higher ups responsible for watching over them in the field ignored their safety concerns, and that when sexual assaults did occur, they were treated as though the assault was their fault.
CBS News analyzed sexual assaults reported to the agency from 2004 through 2009 and found that Peace Corps volunteers were at higher risk for sexual assault in some countries more than others.
The one country that consistently tops the list with a high rate of reported sexual assaults is Jordan.
The following countries had reported rates of sexual assault for Peace Corps volunteers at 10% or more:
2009: Armenia, Azerbijan, Peru, Vanuatu, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Jordan
2008: Georgia, Jordan
2007: Albania, Georgia, Mongolia, Jordan
2006: Georgia, Jordan
2005: East Timor, Jordan
2004: Jordan, Mongolia, Morocco
The Peace Corps says between 2000 and 2009 there have been over 1000 sexual assaults including 221 rapes or attempted rapes.
Today was not the first time concerns were raised about the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers. A report from 2002 by the Government Accountability Office noted that volunteers reported they had not been prepared for sexual harassment. Others told the GAO that they wished they had been given self-protection training. At that time 51% of volunteers reported sexual harassment.
Former Peace Corps volunteers who were raped during their time in the field told the House Foreign Affairs Committee today that their training did not warn them of the possible dangers. They said the sexual assault prevention video "Serving Safely" shown during their training portrayed the victims as "apologetic" for being victims of assault.
The Peace Corps said today they would no longer use the video and will develop a new one.
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
When this story was posted in May 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest. |
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: CBS
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Williams; HQ; SA; Congress; Legislation; Safety
PCOL47040
03