Peace Corps' Response to ABC News 20/20 Piece

On January 11, Peace Corps wrote a statement to ABC News prior to the airing of the Jan. 14 20/20 episode about sexual assault and rape in Peace Corps saying:

"...your story covers the concerns of Peace Corps volunteers who have been raped or sexually assaulted while serving abroad. When anything happens to one of our volunteers, we do our best to offer comprehensive support through medical, counseling, and legal services. We are unwavering in our efforts to strengthen our approach to volunteer safety and security."

While that is the ideal situation that all Volunteer receive the same high level of comprehensive care, First Response Action has received numerous Volunteer reports that contradict this. We recognize that the in-country staff at the time of an incident plays a huge part in how a Volunteer situation will be managed. It is understandable that Peace Corps headquarters cannot directly manage every rape or sexual assault from D.C. This is why First Response Action advocates for in-country staff and Volunteer training in industry best practices to manage incidents of sexual assault and rape. This is also a challenging statement to read since specialized trauma counseling services were disbanded more than six years ago and there are a handful of counselors to work with hundreds of Volunteer survivors each year.

Peace Corps also stated that:

"Since August 2009, when Aaron Williams became Director of the Peace Corps, the agency has put into place measures to improve our security and support operations. The Peace Corps has developed an enhanced agencywide sexual assault prevention and response strategy. This plan is designed to expand the depth and breadth of the agency’s ability and commitment to prevent and respond to sexual assaults. Accordingly, we have undertaken a comprehensive study of best practices in the field of sexual assault prevention, met with leaders in the field of rape prevention and response, written new guidelines for responding to rapes and major sexual assaults for use by overseas staff, developed a statement of Peace Corps’ commitment to victims of sexual assault, and updated the agency’s incident reporting system."

It is important to note that many people have praised current Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams for dedicating more time to issues of sexual assault and rape. Several of the items listed in the above quote are also on First Response Action's Seven Point Plan. It is also important to note that no formal policy has existed since 2004, as a Peace Corps official told First Response Action in December 2010, and that this stated strategy has yet to be implemented worldwide. Peace Corps told First Response Action members that within the last six months they have begun to meet with industry leaders in sexual assault. It has yet to come to light what will be garnered from those meetings.

Following the Jan. 14 airing of the 20/20 special, Peace Corps responded to in a release on January 14 from Director Williams saying:

"ABC's program is deeply troubling and does not accurately reflect Peace Corps' unwavering commitment to our volunteers. The health and safety of our volunteers is the single most important priority for our agency. We are consistently reviewing and improving our global operations to ensure that we are doing our best to keep our volunteers healthy, safe and productive.

Under my leadership, the Peace Corps has been implementing reforms to enhance the quality of Peace Corps service. These reforms include strengthening all health and safety measures. We do everything we can to keep our volunteers safe, and for those who sadly fall victim to crime, we do everything we can to support them in their recovery. The women interviewed by 20/20 are courageous and strong. Their stories are heartbreaking. Since their service, Peace Corps has improved sexual assault prevention procedures and practices, and we will continue to be responsive to the victims of assault and provide comprehensive care.

We will never be able to eliminate volunteers' exposure to crimes overseas, but we will work continuously to maximize the safety and health systems supporting our volunteers. This is my pledge to Americans serving today and to the volunteers of tomorrow."

For those Volunteers who received appropriate responses post-incident, we are thrilled. That should happen every time. First Response Action advocates that all Volunteers receive the same level of care and treatment. Not all Volunteers are med-evac'd to D.C. for treatment. Not all Volunteers' first responders are competent professionals. There is a disconnect between what happens in-country and what happens in Washington, D.C. Our goal is that each and every Volunteer, regardless of the country, staff or incident, will receive the proper medical care, counseling, legal advice and anything else they need. We do not diminish those incidents that were managed properly - we would like to point them out as examples.

It is important that Director Williams has taken the issue of rape and sexual assault so seriously during his leadership. This is to be applauded. Even long-term Peace Corps staff have told us that this director over others has truly dedicated time and effort to this issue. We will be watching to see what is implemented, how it works and how that is managed. We are incredibly grateful to Director Williams that he has taken such a proactive role.

First Response Action wants to hear from Returned or current Volunteers about your experiences whether they were positive or negative. Your stories help us build the case that all Volunteers need to be treated equally. You can email firstresponseaction@gmail.com with your comments or story.

Peace.

"Solidarity Not Sympathy"

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, graduate student and all-around spectacular person AJ Kumar wrote an article for the site go.girl.magazine in acknowledgement of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In this article, he mentions First Response Action as a way for people to engage in stemming the tide of sexual assault and rape by bringing solidarity and not just sympathy to the situation. A selection of AJ's article is below. You can find his whole piece here.

Given that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I’m dedicating this month’s column to highlighting a few movements that address support for victims of sexual assault and ways for men to be a bigger part of the solution.

First Response Action

There are many ways to stand in solidarity against sexual violence. Perhaps one of the most important ways is to advocate for victims and provide them with the needed support and services. In the Peace Corps, the way each post responds to sexual assault and rape is not always uniform. To be clear, they are not ignoring the problem and do have some systems in place.

For example, in South Africa, the medical unit made it a point to talk about the need to get in touch with them immediately if one was ever raped so that they could get the victim on PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), in order to minimize the risk of transmission of HIV. If taken within 72 hours, PEP can drastically reduce the chances of transmission and its something that more people should be aware of, even outside of SA.

Much of the support needed after an incident of rape or sexual assault though, is not related to bio-medicine, but rather to mental health. On this front, there are many ways that the situation could be improved in the Peace Corps and elsewhere.

During the two years I served in South Africa, there were multiple rapes of female PCVs and there were multiple incidences of sexual assault. Our post and our fellow PCVs responded to these in a sometimes haphazard way. Sometimes facts were distorted. Sometimes victims were blamed. Neither of these are acceptable. I think much of this was due to both our post and our PCVs not taking enough time to prepare a response to sexual assault and rape. Fortunately though, out of this chaos has emerged a movement within the Peace Corps community to do better.

First Response Action is an advocacy group headed by Casey Frazee, a fellow South Africa PCV, who was a victim both of sexual assault and of poor support from the post after the incident. Casey is trying to get the Peace Corps to adopt a 7 Point Plan to provide a more uniform and supportive response to the realities of sexual violence against volunteers. It is a cause not just for victims, but for all fellow volunteers, and friends and families of volunteers to stand together with those that have been victims of sexual violence.

To get the ear of a big government organization like the Peace Corps, we need all the support we can get. Please visit http://firstresponseaction.blogspot.com/ to find out more about the campaign and see how you can help. Of course, this response may be specific to Peace Corps, but the problem is not. It’s worthwhile looking into whatever organization you work for or travel with to see if they have a well thought out strategy to respond to incidents of sexual violence.

AJ Kumar, RPCV South Africa

In a recent post, here, I shared that the Peace Corps representatives I spoke with in March said that they are supportive of change. In fact, they already have momentum in the direction of a Survivor Bill of Rights being included in the Volunteer Handbook. Several of the other items on the 7-Point Plan are yet to be determined, but the First Response Action Coalition remains vigilant of progress, ultimately keeping survivors and current volunteers as the highest priority.

Peace.

Peace Corps is Supportive of Change

Several weeks ago, I had a conference call with two Peace Corps staff members, one from the Office of Safety & Security (S&S) and the other from the Office of Medical Services (OMS). Both of them told me that the letter I wrote to Director Aaron Williams, regarding the need for increased support of survivors of sexual and other physical crimes, was taken very seriously and given priority to follow-up.

Here are some highlights from the call:

• Peace Corps is working on a Rape Response Handbook for use in-country. This would outline procedure and protocol for PC staff and should be available by July. From what I understood on the call, this would only be available on the PC Intranet - not available for PCV viewing - though parts of this handbook would be accessible to PCVs.
• A Survivor Bill of Rights is to be included in the next version of the Volunteer Handbook, supposedly due out this year. This is Item One on the 7-Point Plan and apparently PC has had this in the works for quite awhile. This was incredibly heartening to learn.
• PC is working with the advocacy group SOAR - Speaking Out About Rape and as the representative from S&S said "many of the groups listed on the First Response Action blog." It is uplifting to hear that PC is taking notes from state and national organizations that work closely with issues of rape and sexual assault to guide their procedure.
• S&S' relatively new (2008) director is more survivor-centered than past directors and is focusing on prevention as well as supporting PCVs after incidents.
• There are plans in the works to re-create the training video which so many PCVs/RPCVs find offensive and victim-blaming. Te three survivors featured in the training video had consumed alcohol when their incidents happened, which naturally draws the conclusion (for many who view the video) that PC is blaming the victims for the attacks they suffered.
• PC is going to look into beefing up online resources and links for family and friends of PCV survivors. This was one of the items in the 7-Point Plan.
• Informed Consent for survivors who are determining whether or not to press charges was discussed. It appears that PC's track record for dealing with legal issues around the world is very good. However, if not all volunteers are receiving enough appropriate information with which to make an informed decision, then this is a major gap in the system.

Overall, the staff I spoke with were very affirmative of the 7-Point Plan and implementing systems to better support volunteers. So much of this boils down to staff in-country at the time of an incident. Staff turnover is frequent, by design, and this causes many issues with historical knowledge and uniformity in dealing with issues.

It is heartening to hear that PC has so many items already in the works to better support PCVs who are survivors of sexual and physical abuse. I only hope the new items can get rolled-out quickly for the benefit of currently-serving and incoming PCVs.

Peace.

Editor's Note 4/18/10: While the initial conversation with Peace Corps medical and security staff went well, it is understood that nothing new is in place yet. At this very moment, the same system is at work, which means that PCVs are still susceptible to the complications from "business as usual." That is why the First Response Action Coalition will be continuing to follow-up and make sure that PCVs are supported and that the necessary change happens. Having plans and implementing plans are certainly two different stories.

While I understand the skepticism from the comments and others who have emailed, I think if Peace Corps is saying that they also recognize a change has to be made, then we should believe them. We will just be more vigilant to make sure Peace Corps follows through. Thank you again for your comments and emails. I always welcome comments, stories and perspectives on rape and sexual assault in Peace Corps. You can email me at firstresponseaction@gmail.com.