Peace Corps Volunteer Speaks Out About Lacking Sexual Assault Response
I breathed in the fresh ocean air rolling up from the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean while standing on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. I was thousands of feet off the ground, gazing at one of the most marvelous sites in the world. Yet I felt devoid of emotion and feeling, sucked out of me when I was sexually assaulted while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa.I remember thinking to myself that I was at a candidate for one of the wonders of the world and I didn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even crack a smile. What once came naturally to me now took so much force to muster that it wasn’t worth it most times.
Being sexually assaulted changed who I was forever. That one act of betrayal. That one act of such an intimate violation. I now view the world through the lens of a survivor.
My attacker was part of my host family and he had harassed me for months. After being assaulted in June 2009, I discovered in the most difficult and personal way possible that Peace Corps had no global policy on how to manage incidents of sexual assault and rape. While most Peace Corps victims of assault or rape are kept in the country’s capital while next steps are taken, my Country Director thought it would be more “productive” to send me out to visit Volunteers and help at their sites. Being a generally helpful and agreeable person, and having never been assaulted before, I thought this seemed reasonable. However, it led me down a path of increased PTSD symptoms, isolation, and breakdowns. I was left on my own to devolve in various locations throughout South Africa.
Full article here:
https://news.change.org/stories/peace-corps-volunteer-speaks-out-about-lacking-sexual-assault-response
It's a courageous act to write as you have, and what this new work will accomplish may be even more significant than the stated goals of the Peace Corps. May life feel safe and whole and good again for you soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for speaking out! Keep posting in your blog, please.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely admire what you're doing. I should point out that a very similar issue exists in college study abroad programs, where young people very seldom appreciate the risk of sexual assault in a foreign country. Very quickly, what should have been one of the most exciting periods of their life can turn into a nightmare, where resources and a support system following a rape are quickly discovered to be scarce, the criminal justice system may as well be non-existent, and it is often much easier to simply remain silent.
ReplyDeleteWe have two daughters, and each was a victim of sexual assault while studying abroad, one in Africa and the other in Spain.
Thanks so much for being so brave . . .
Thanks for sharing your story and I hope your efforts will lead to a better and stronger Peace Corps in terms of dealing with victims (and survivors!) I work for the UN and your experience makes me wonder what policies it has in place for helping victims... I think we do, but I'm quite sure no one really knows much about them...
ReplyDeleteI saw the article on NY Times. Thank you for being brave and exposing evil. I pray for healing for you. May Mary Osterm's wonderful wish for you, "May life feel safe and whole and good again for you soon," come true. May what was intended for your harm somehow, eventually, turn out for your good.
ReplyDeleteAs far as blaming the victim? There was a PC volunteer who was killed in the Phillipines. I was flying back to Japan with my husband.The man sitting next to me at the bulkhead identified himself to his equally self important seatmate as the director of the Peace Corps. He was a) bemoaning the fact that he was flying coach, but had to since he was flying out at the last minute and b) complaining that the woman had "gotten herself killed" " She should have known better than to go out in the jungle on a walk" As it turned out the man who killed her said in his defense that she had looked like someone he and his family had a feud with- even though the woman was blonde...
ReplyDeleteI was so repulsed at the man's indifference to her death and his holier than tho attitude of being too good to sit in coach- at the bulkhead I was thinking of writing to my Congressman to have him investigated by congress. I felt the job title should come with a modicum of empathy and compassion
i think it's a big problem too in academia when researchers and assistants are in remote areas conducting field work--be it for biology or anthropology or any other field. as someone that was raped when conducting some marine ecology field work in central america, i feel as if i can relat. i didn't do anything about it--and was too scared to say anything or even know what to say--and when i did mention something i was intimidated and threatened by some staff. there's a fine line between the culture of the area (people standing closer to you, looking at you leerily) and then completely violating your trust and then being made to feel guilty. there really should be a better support system in place.
ReplyDeleteanyway, i hope congress takes action--in peace corps, in academia, in the US, and around the world. it's not our fault, even though there are days we are convinced it is.
thank you for bringing this issue to light
It's heartbreaking to hear the stories of people who were victims of sexual assault or rape in the Peace Corps. I'm sure the whole positive experience that could have been their Peace Corps service was turned into a nightmare. That being said, one does take risks when you commit to Peace Corps service...to go into places that might not be "safe," as we consider safe would be in the United States. I believe that when you enter Peace Corps service, you are assuming those risks of being a little more unsafe. Not to say that rape or sexual assault is EVER acceptable, but I don't think point fingers of blame is either. Unfortunately, rape and sexual assault happens in the US too...and who would you point the finger at then? The only ones that really have the fault are the attacker(s). I believe that Peace Corps may need to change some of it's services in order to accommodate the tragedy that is being a victim of these horrible events, but I really think the ABC 20/20 special about these cases was over-exaggerated. Especially including the Kate Puzey case. That Volunteer was a victim of murder...a COMPLETELY different case than anything that rape victims experienced.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about whether ALL of the victims you know of are all white. I watched the 20/20 segment and they were all white women.
ReplyDeleteWe are protesting in front of NYPD Rape Cop Lawyers for their Venus Fly Trap tactics an inyour face hate crime in court. May 11 Wednesday 12:30-1 275 Madison Ave by 40th street
ReplyDeleteIt seems clear that policies and practices regarding rape and sexual violence is long, long overdue, and I'm glad to see First Response Action getting the message across. In the current climate in federal and state governments to de-fund Planned Parenthood, i will be amazed to see Congress rush to the defense of women and wonder if this isn't a way to de-fund the Peace Corps.
ReplyDeleteDear Casey, I find it very courageous of you to speak out. I found the link to your blog from the International Tribune Website (NY times). I hope your efforts would soon result in a change within the Peace Corps in dealing with victims and survivors of attacks. Keep posting the blog! I am with you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for having the courage to share your difficult story. As a young woman looking to serve in the Peace Corps, I hope your experience will not be repeated and that the hard work you put towards making the Corps a safer opportunity for women like me will result in real change. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having the courage to speak out as you have. I was recently medically separated from Peace Corps following being raped by one of my in-country co-workers and then 45 intense days of therapy in D.C. While I was initially angry about being separated, feeling that I had failed and that what was supposed to be such a positive, life-changing experience was now being defined to me by one horrific incident because I was not being allowed to go back to country and move past it, I am now grateful for Peace Corps decision not to send me back as I am suffering from strong PTSD and depression symptoms.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I need to say, as well, that you are making a great difference, and I even felt that difference in how my case was handled from the start (as my attack occurred after the 20/20 special). While I chose not to press charges (for many personal, and I feel, logical reasons), the safety and security officer did make sure to spell it out as an option for me. They also rushed me from my site to the capital city as soon as I called to report the incident (and were willing to pay extra to fly me first class when that was the only immediate transportation available). Even thought I am still recovering from what happened to me and working on filing for Workman's comp for the therapy that I will need, I do feel that Peace Corps handled my case pretty well, and this might be due in part to your work. Thank you for being brave, publicly sharing a traumatic event in your life that I know can be difficult to even acknowledge to oneself, and for fighting for better treatment for current and future volunteers.
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ReplyDeleteSorry you were raped, that really sucks. Hopefully the Peace Corps will get it together and create a response team. It is shocking they don't have one. But, even with a good response team, the rapes still would have happened.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson is it's not realistic for young women to travel alone in dangerous third-world countries. Even as a guy, I would not travel in these places with less than one male travel companion, preferably two. If you were living with two other Americans, you would have the social and physical power to deter rape.
I have to politely disagree with you, Anonymous. American men can be rapists too, so living with Americans may not have made a difference for Casey. A good response team would probably have prevented some rapes in the area or at least provided more support in the aftermath for the survivors. It is not actually shocking that the Peace Corps doesn't have a good response team, either -- all over the world and in many situations in the U.S., authorities respond badly or not at all to the reports of rape. Rape kits, for example, are famously left in back rooms and not processed for years or ever. This lack of or lackluster response is a terrible thing.
DeleteThe lesson should not be that "it's not realistic for young women to travel alone etc." Women have the right to travel alone just as men do. You may not realize this, but to say that "it's not realistic etc." is a form of victim blaming. To put it in other words, you're basically saying "young women should not travel alone in foreign countries." But the problem is not what young women do, ever. Rape is the fault of the rapist, and only the rapist. Rape happens to women whether they are traveling alone or with others -- a host family, for example, is meant to be a protection in itself.
The stark sad truth is, women rarely have the social or physical power to prevent rape. Even women with the physical power to prevent rape are often threatened with death if they move, or they are in too much shock to struggle, or they have many other reasons that they cannot physically stop a rapist.
Please educate yourself about rape and raoe culture before you make comments about a woman being raped. This topic is so sensitive and so easy to address in an offensive way that it is important to respond with both compassion and knowledge of the topic.
Casey, thank you for your bravery in speaking out. I wish you strength, hope, and healing.
I just read about your crusade, Casey. I am very impressed by your bravery and determination. It only takes person to make a difference. You have proved that!
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Frazee,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story and bringing this topic to National attention. My husband and I were B6 volunteers in Bangladesh. My husband advocated that subsequent groups be informed of the dangers of rape posed to female volunteers. The measures he proposed were never acted upon (to the best of our knowledge). We would be happy to support you in any way we can.
Sincerely,
Tammy
trheimerl@yahoo.com
I'm impressed by your actions and especially by the public and Peace Corps response it seems to have invoked. I assume it will result in effective action. Sexual abuse and violence is a worldwide phenomenon, but PC volunteers can be put into extremely vulnerable situations -- especially when in a strange culture. The PC should be taking a vigorous stand to protect its volunteers, to seek justice when they are wronged in a foreign country, and to provide healing resources to the victims.
ReplyDeleteThank you to Ms. Frazee for speaking out so bravely about this. Just FYI to all the people who want to blame the victim by saying women should know what they are getting themselves into, but place no responsibility on the Peace Corps, the Peace Corps is (or has been historically) very insistent through the application and training process that you are not going into danger and as the agency assuring women that they are being sent into non-dangerous situations, they absolutely have a responsibility to provide services and support after an assault has occurred, as well as to respond when women express fear about where they are assigned to live and behave proactively. They also have a responsibility to at least acknowledge there they are sending people into potential danger, which they do not do. Sexual assault is not the only danger faced by PCV's that the Peace Corps glosses over. I wish that potential volunteers were made as aware as people think they are of all the dangers they may face by joining so they can make an informed decision about whether to serve. I think its an amazing organization and I have no regrets about my service, but the Peace Corps needs to get serious about the reality of what people face when abroad.
ReplyDeleteA couple of people have commented that Peace Corps service is risky and volunteers should accept that. I think you're missing the point. of this organization, according to their very own words. The problem here is the Peace Corps' *response* to sexual assaults and other crimes, not the fact that crimes occur. The Peace Corps can't control crime rates, police forces, or governments, but they can and should change their own policies.
ReplyDeleteThank you. By speaking out you are forcing real change.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work. In my Peace Corps group, two girls were raped and numerous others were sexually assaulted. If the PC were to more aggressively pursue the offenders it will achieve what the PC is intended to do - set an example to the host country and spread democratic freedoms i.e. the right to be a woman and not be raped.
ReplyDeleteto the anonymous comment on how it is dangerous for women to travel--i think there is a larger rape culture we are talking about. there is no lesson to be learned on the part of women--we can be as cautious and as careful as we want, but what we need to is to dismantle the rape culture, the idea of male power and privilege and using that power to get what they want. it doesn't help a rape survivor to hear "oh this is the lesson to be learned"
ReplyDeleteCourage ladies and good luck in your recovery. While serving I spoke with the country director about the harrassment and threats I was experiencing at work and received a new assignment in a distant city. I was relieved to move with no questions or objections.
ReplyDeleteThere are supportive Peace Corps professionals. We need education for all staff and volunteers. I'd love to see in country training cover legal information about the country we're serving in.
I just learned about the testimony today and your blog from the news. Thank you VERY MUCH for speaking out on this important issue. When I was a PCV teacher in Namibia (in the first group) a male teacher at my school tried to force himself on me sexually more than once. When I finally went to the Peace Corps for help, the Country Director actually said to my something about me over-reacting to sexual politics and implied that it was my own fault that I was having such problems. I remember how angry and incredulous I was that an American male who I trusted would say such a thing to me. This statement especially angered me in light of the fact that this co-worker entered my house, drunk and tried to force himself on me sexually. And yes, the PC management pretty much convinced me to leave, that it was for the best for me to go home (after 18 months of service.) In one way, I was fortunate in that the Peace Corps nurse in Namibia, who was Ghanaian, was very kind & supportive to me. She made sure that I got counseling when I got back to the USA. Unfortunately, when I contacted the Peace Corps headquarters itself, wrote a letter to the headquarters asking why the Country Director would "blame" me and what training he had received, I was blacklisted, ranks closed against me. I lived in Washington at the time and a friend that worked at the Peace Corps in the African Division told me not to bother to apply for jobs there, I had be labeled as a trouble-maker. I really believe that the attitude I received from the Country Director and the headquarters was just another trauma on top of the assault itself. Hopefully, your work on changing attitudes at the Peace Corps itself on these issues will have an impact. Thank you again for this work.
ReplyDeleteyou're amazing for speaking out. although i haven't personally heard of rape and sexual assault--i am aware from people who have done peace corp previously hardly treat their corp members with the compassion and humanity they propose to bring throughout the world. i thank you for sharing your story and hope that the peace corp reforms its ways, and agree, additional training and a change of attitude. victims of rape are still stigmatized, and that attitude prevents them from receiving the healing process they need to recover physically and more importantly, emotionally.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to check out a series by the Dayton Daily News in 2003 that highlights the dangers of Peace Corps
ReplyDeletehttp://www.daytondailynews.com/project/content/project/peacecorps/index.html
I appreciate what you are doing however I thought that ABC 20/20 interview was very over exaggerated. And of course when the Peace Corps is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary is when this is aired and paints such a bad picture on a great organization. When your a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) you represent yourself, the US, and an organization. I think people forget this during their service. A lot of volunteers have group gatherings where excessive drinking occurs and sometimes they make poor decisions that lead to these events same thing happens in the US. When you sign up for Peace Corps it doesn't matter where you serve but volunteers should always keep in mind that you are an outsider and a visitor. No matter how comfortable you get in your community you are always being watched. With that being said you just always have to be on guard wherever you live in the world. You are responsible for your own actions and I feel in that 20/20 interview people put themselves in dangerous situations that led to unfortunate events. It is sad but it can happen to anyone, at anytime, and anywhere.
ReplyDeleteNever doubt that the courage you show in speaking out will help others. Believe in yourself and the woman inside you who is still whole and is still there.
ReplyDeleteSome of the above responses have stated that those who choose to serve in the Peace Corps, especially women, should assume risk and should take the necessary precautions to "deter rape", including living and traveling with at least two other Americans.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guyana and at the beginning of my service when I was looking for housing, a couple of my co-volunteers and I considered finding a place together. We felt it would be safer living together, and we were actually having a hard time finding appropriate (read: safe) housing for even one of us.
Peace Corps told us that we were not allowed to live together, that we had to live alone because if we were together we increased the risk of being robbed. All four of us women ended up living alone. The volunteer who moved into my place after I left was assaulted.
If you gave me the choice between being robbed and being raped, I'd choose the former. Peace Corps not only needs to change their response to rape and assault but also some of their in-country policies to help women live and serve safely.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTen years while serving in the peace Corp in Thailand. I witnessed the similar poor handling of a young volunteers rape. It was shocking to me then, but even more disappointing today to learn victims still are brushed aside. I think this hearing will bring the changes needed so that future pc volunteers get the support they desire. How can be truly be role models for women's rights around the world when this is still happening?
I was in the Peace Corps two times... in Benin in the 80's and again in 2001. I received an enormous amount of support from the Peace Corps when in very difficult situations. I was not treated disrespectfully... but in fact Peace Corps insisted on counseling when I didn't even request or want it! That said, in country there was a local-hire “Nurse Ratched” who tried to get me kicked out ... but didn’t succeed. It is a large organization, and maybe some volunteers get a bum deal Nurse Ratched-type, but I would credit Peace Corps and their support system which taught me how to experience another culture and know how to deal with other cultures ethics. The Peace Corps, as ANY organization, has its Nurse Ratched-types. Hopefully your mission will address Peace Corps’ dealing with these types of people, but at the same time a tall order to ask. There will be always be problems that Peace Corps headquarters will have to face. For example, I have a friend to this day suffering from witnessing genocide in South Africa. When you join the Peace Corps , you make a choice as a volunteer to live in different cultures and set of laws. To this day, it was the toughest job I ever loved!
ReplyDeleteI believe until men admit to being gang raped-prison style, the powers that be will ALWAYS blame the victim- she should have known better- she put herself in the wrong place...etc. Remember the Central Park ( NY) woman who was raped? Now had it been a Wall Street MAN- the whole city would have been in an uproar.And the media would have handled the case with more respect.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing light to this troubling issue. Darkness lingers in other areas of sexual assault in the Peace Corps: male on male sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteI was a Peace Corps Volunteer (99 - 01) and was raped halfway through my service. The Peace Corps office was notified but did not write a report and did not offer me any support or guidance. It was swept under the rug. No one wanted to talk about it - not even my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. I was left feeling confused, ashamed, hurt, and lost.
I know I'm not the only one, in fact I wasn't even the only male victim of sexual assault that year in the country I was serving in. Being gay in developing countries certainly comes with it's own set of challenges. But I believe they can be better managed with a more proactive approach from the Peace Corps.
Reading your words helped me a great deal. I wonder how many more of us are out there?
Having just retired as a 30 year administrator, I was considering volunteering my time in the Peace Corps. After reading this and seeing what a cavalier attitude the Peace Corps has about rape, I've decided to volunteer elsewhere. Keep up the fight for justice.
ReplyDeleteCF: the lack of adequate policies around rape and sexual assualt in geneal is definitely an unexcusable void in Peace Corps, and while I am deeply sympathetic that you were a victim/survivor of such a crime, I am glad that you are bringly to light this unacceptable negligence on the part of Peace Corp.
ReplyDeleteReading this blog, it must take great character and strength to be able to step into the light yourself and expose your personal story but also deal with the ignorance, apathy and complicity out there. Respect.
Whoever posted on 11 May, 2011 07:59 -- you are part of the problem that perpetuate the blind eye to criminal activity that ruins whole lives. The point isn't that volunteers expect to walk around in a priveleged bubble that has equal orless risk than in the states-- it is that PC has pretty explicit coverage on things like dental care, motorcycle use and vacation days in their training, policies and procedures. They have protocols to respond to that they must adhere to when notified of things like symptoms of gastrointestinal infections and potential exposure to AIDS. Every PC person I know can name a volunteer from their country or even hohort that was assaulted. The first thing my parents said (as country national that knew and hosted PC volunteers over 30 years ago) was "but so many of those young girls got raped". It is a disgrace that PC does not have established training and protocols that are followed and monitored in order to deal with this issue when it occurs (and must be ordered to do so by Congress). I have to wonder what role the gender bias has played in the absence of such policies.
I am 18 years old and I am looking into joining after I finish my degree next fall. Before I go speak with a recruiter, my parents made me read blogs such as yours and news articles on what goes on behind the scenes. I am very worried that I am going to me tricked into something bad when all I have ever wanted was to help. If you have any advice for me, I would be more than happy to listen.
ReplyDeleteHi @Anonymous on 12/10 - I would never tell someone not to join Peace Corps because something happened to me or other women. I would advise doing your homework, as it appears your parents are encouraging you to do. You can check out information on our website about our Coalition's advice to prospective Volunteers. Here's the link: http://www.firstresponseaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=90
ReplyDeleteBest of luck in your research and decision. Please feel free to email us at firstresponseaction@gmail.com
The truth will set us free and you are brave enough to speak it in a world that often prefers myth. Why do people want to find the thing that the victim of the crime did "wrong" and never aske what's wrong with someone who would comitt such a soulless inhumane act? I believe its a form of self protective denial. No one wants to believe that this could happen to them so they tell themselves," I am safe because I would never do --------- that the victim did." Its a lie but it offers a sense of safety and clearly many people think that sense is more valuable than solving the problem. Thank you for the truth.
ReplyDeleteI too was sexually assualted while serving ih the Peace Corps RPCV Philippines 1985-1987. Still suffer from the experience.
ReplyDelete