P is for Peace Corps

Peace Corps is an organization dedicated to social justice and activism around the world. However, after more and more female volunteers are speaking out about their experiences with sexual assault and a lack of support from Peace Corps administrators, it seems as if Peace Corps isn't all that great.

Stories of brutal sexual assault and violence are being taken to courts and media sources across the nation. Female volunteers who do work abroad are voicing their anger over the lack of support that Peace Corps offers women who have been raped/sexually abused while on the job.

The women's stories have sparked congressional hearings on this matter, one of which was held Wednesday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

 Huffington Post, who covered the meeting, quoted Jessica Smochek's personal experience with a gang rape in Bangladesh.

Smochek claimed that after the incident happened, Peace Corps medical officer took her cellphone, forbade her from calling other volunteers and speaking about the incident, didn't give her a proper medical examination and sent her back to the U.S, where she was ordered to claim that she was back to get her teeth worked on.

Smochek detailed her concerns with Peace Corps here:

"Shortly after I left, the country director -- who never attempted to contact me after I was raped -- called a meeting of several women in my former volunteer group and told them, without my permission, what had happened to me," she said. "Then, he told them that rape was a woman’s fault and that I had caused what happened to me by being out alone after 5:00 PM. As for the other women in the group, who had been very vocal about being constantly stalked and afraid, he threatened them with administrative separation."

This issue has gotten huge. The statements from the country director are both shocking and disturbing, but they also reflect an attitude that our society perpetuates.

Often women are blamed for rape because of the way they were acting and dressing. In court cases, it is almost the number one defense for a suspect of rape.

Why is this even a valid argument? No woman asks to be sexually assaulted, no matter how she dresses. For the Peace Corps, who I believe does generally good work, to encourage and utilize this vicious stereotype/excuse as a response to the assault of their female volunteers is absolutely unacceptable.

According to the director of the Peace Corps, Aaron Williams,  there is going to be change brought to the organization.

Williams said, "We do not place Peace Corps volunteers in unsafe environments."

Obviously, though, they do. And obviously their response to the aftermath of placing volunteers in unsafe environments is less than "peaceful".

Why did it take the Peace Corps this long to realize that their response to rape and sexual assault was inappropriate and unacceptable?

According to Williams, he was surprised and "amazed" that this kind of response had been happening. But according to the victims, it isn't something new.

Our society's ideas about rape and sexual assault need to change. It's time that we stop blaming the victim for sexual assault and instead work on reducing the amount of rape that goes on.