Inspector General Report of Peace Corps Sexual Assault Policy
BACKGROUND
On November 21, 2011, the President signed into law the Kate
Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 (Kate Puzey Act). This Act
requires the agency to: provide comprehensive sexual assault risk-reduction and
response training to Volunteers that conforms to best practices; develop and
implement a comprehensive sexual assault policy; establish an Office of Victim
Advocacy (OVA) and a sexual assault advisory council (SAAC); and to undertake
other efforts to enhance Volunteer safety and security and the Peace Corps’
response to victims of sexual assault. The Kate Puzey Act requires the Peace
Corps Office of Inspector General (OIG) to assess agency compliance with these
changes.
OIG must provide to Congress by November 21, 2013, reports
on the status of the Kate Puzey Act implementation:
- An evaluation of the effectiveness and implementation of the sexual assault risk-reduction and response training.
- An evaluation of the effectiveness and implementation of the sexual assault policy, including a case review of a statistically significant number of cases.
- A report describing how Peace Corps representatives are hired, terminated, and how Peace Corps representatives hire staff, including an assessment of the implementation of performance plans.
OBJECTIVES
The following evaluation objectives have guided this
evaluation of the sexual assault policy, including a case review of a
statistically significant number of cases.
- Has Peace Corps developed and implemented a sexual assault policy that complies with section 8B of the Kate Puzey Act?
- Has all overseas staff received training on the Peace Corps’ sexual assault policy?
- Are victims of sexual assault receiving the services mandated by section 8B of the Kate Puzey Act?
RESULTS IN BRIEF
Many elements of the Peace Corps’ sexual assault policy are
in place, but full compliance with the Kate Puzey Act remains a work in
progress. Some of the Kate Puzey Act required elements existed in Peace Corps
policies prior to the Act; others, that will significantly change the agency’s
sexual assault response and support, are still being developed and revised. One
centralized sexual assault policy does not yet exist, although senior staff
reported its intention is to identify and communicate to staff which documents
make up the agency’s comprehensive sexual assault policy. Some significant new
elements of the policy, such as restricted reporting and sexual assault
response liaisons (SARLs), among others, are scheduled to go into effect on
September 1, 2013.
The implementation dates for some of the new sexual assault
policies and the November 2013 congressional deadline for this report limited
the extent to which we could evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of
the agency’s sexual assault policy. We were unable to verify the final content
of some policies, or verify that victims received certain services, because the
policies outlining the provision of services had not yet been finalized or fully
implemented. We were also unable to evaluate whether the new and modified
policies are having the intended effects because as of this writing, they had
not been implemented or there has not been a sufficient amount of elapsed time since
implementation to determine effectiveness.
We found that Peace Corps’ existing and draft policies included
most of the required elements mandated by the Kate Puzey Act; best practices
were incorporated to the extent possible, and experts were consulted in most circumstances.
However, we also found that there is not a single point of contact responsible
for managing the agency’s development and revision of the policies to ensure
they contain the elements required by the Kate Puzey Act. Additionally, in some
cases, required services were either not explicitly included in policy or not
consistently communicated to staff.
Without making these documents easily identifiable and accessible to staff, it will be difficult to guarantee that future victims of
sexual assault will receive all the required services. We determined that the
Peace Corps has trained some, but not all, overseas staff on the sexual assault
policies. Agency management stated that it could not meet this requirement
until it had finalized its comprehensive sexual assault policy. However, the
agency has made efforts to improve its approach to responding to victims of
sexual assault and has trained some staff as changes have been implemented. The
agency intends to train all overseas staff on the relevant policies after
September 1, 2013. Our analysis revealed that Volunteers who were victims of a
sexual assault during our case review time period were generally offered all
applicable services that were available, although Volunteers frequently declined
some of the support options available to them. Some services, specifically the
creation of a safety plan and presenting legal and prosecutorial options to Volunteers,
were hard to verify due to a lack of documentation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Our report contains eight recommendations, which, if
implemented, should strengthen the agency’s compliance with the Kate Puzey Act.
Read the full report here.
Inspector General
Report of Peace Corps Sexual Assault Training
BACKGROUND
On November 21, 2011, the President signed into law the Kate
Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 (Kate Puzey Act). This Act
requires the agency to provide comprehensive sexual assault risk-reduction and
response training to Volunteers that conforms to best practices; develop and
implement a comprehensive sexual assault policy; establish an Office of Victim
Advocacy (OVA) and a sexual assault advisory council (SAAC); and to undertake other
efforts to enhance Volunteer safety and security and the Peace Corps’ response
to victims of sexual assault. The Kate Puzey Act requires the Peace Corps
Office of Inspector General (OIG) assess agency compliance with these changes.
OIG must provide to Congress by November 21, 2013, reports on
the status of the Kate Puzey Act implementation:
- An evaluation of the effectiveness and implementation of the sexual assault risk-reduction and response training.
- An evaluation of the effectiveness and implementation of the sexual assault policy, including a case review of a statistically significant number of cases.
- A report describing how Peace Corps representatives are hired, terminated, and how Peace Corps representatives hire staff, including an assessment of the implementation of performance plans.
OBJECTIVES
This evaluation report on sexual assault risk-reduction and response
training for Volunteers answers the following questions:
- Did the agency inform applicants about crimes and risks facing Volunteers?
- Did it provide applicants with all information required by the Kate Puzey Act?
- Was the Peace Corps’ sexual assault training comprehensive and in-line with best practices?
- Did the Peace Corps sufficiently consult with experts in the sexual assault field and incorporate their recommendations in the design of sexual assault training?
- Was sexual assault training tailored to the Volunteers’ country of service?
- Did Volunteers receive sexual assault training, and was the training effective?
RESULTS IN BRIEF
OIG reviewed the information the Peace Corps provided to
applicants and found that it provided much of the information required by the
Kate Puzey Act. For instance, the Peace Corps provided OIG’s contact
information to trainees at multiple points in the application and staging
process. It provided sexual assault training to all 27-month Volunteers. Sexual
assault training conformed to existing best practices in the sexual assault
field, and addressed each of the training topics specified under section 8A(c)
at an appropriate level of detail. However, at the time that fieldwork was conducted for this
evaluation, the agency had not issued its policies and procedures related to
Sexual Assault Response Liaisons (SARLs), or restricted and unrestricted
reporting.
Additionally, the agency was piloting a sexual assault
hotline at seven posts, and had not yet made a hotline available to all
Volunteers. As a result, contact information for SARLs, the 24-hour sexual
assault hotline, and guidelines regarding restricted reporting procedures
following an assault were not provided to applicants.
When these policies and procedures have been issued the
agency will need to update its written guidelines and provide applicants with
the required information and training. The Peace Corps did not provide
applicants with consistent, current crime and risk information.
The Office of Safety and Security (SS) had initiated a new
process to distribute crime and risk information to applicants beginning in
June 2013. The new process, if implemented effectively, should provide
applicants with more complete and current crime and risk information to review prior
to accepting the agency’s invitation to serve in a particular country. The
agency did not consistently provide sexual assault training to Peace Corps
Response Volunteers (PCRVs), who complete shorter term assignments and do not
enter training at the same time as most 27-month Volunteers.
It was not possible for this evaluation to fully assess the
effectiveness of sexual assault training. Field work for the evaluation
occurred soon after the agency began implementing standardized sexual assault
training. Key aspects of the sexual assault policy had not been issued and thus
Volunteers had not received the corresponding training. More time is needed to
all to allow the agency to measure the effectiveness of sexual assault
training. The Kate Puzey Act requires us to provide Congress a follow-up report
in 2016. That report will provide more information and analysis on the
effectiveness of sexual assault training.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Our report contains three recommendations, which, if
implemented, should strengthen the sexual assault training provided to
Volunteers, as required by the Kate Puzey Act, and correct the deficiencies
detailed in this report.
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