Letter to Peace Corps re: Sexual Violence and Victim Blaming

May 11, 2011

The Honorable Aaron S. Williams
Director, United States Peace Corps
1111 20th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20526

Director Williams:

I have been following the recent coverage of rape survivors' experiences in the Peace Corps with great interest. I am a rape survivor myself and would like to thank you for taking steps to recognize, acknowledge and improve the apathy, victim-blaming and outright disrespect heaped upon rape survivors by the Peace Corps over the years.

While each story reported is a tragedy and is heartbreaking in its own right, the described actions of Peace Corps staff were no better then the acts committed by the attackers on these volunteers. Secondary wounding and victim-blaming is not only inexcusable, it is abhorrent and disgusting behaviour. The pain and suffering that these survivors had already been experiencing was only compounded by the callous, arrogant and completely unacceptable practices of some Peace Corps staffers.

While it is admirable that the Peace Corps is taking steps to prevent future victim blaming, I believe there should NOT be any amnesty granted toward those existing staffers who engaged in such horrible and unforgivable practices. 

For instance, the medical officer who treated Jess Smochek so horribly, stole her phone and refused her treatment should be censured and fired immediately. The official in DC who debriefed her and attempted to bully her into silence with such horrible and disgusting victim blaming has no business drawing a salary funded by my tax dollars.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO excuse for ever telling a rape survivor that they must document how THEY WERE TO BLAME for their own rape.

It is not enough that you ensure the safety of future volunteers, you must also take steps to clean out the victim blaming remnants of past regimes. The people described above have demonstrated that they have absolutely no business working with volunteers ever again.

Please do the right thing and hold accountable those who committed such horrendous secondary wounding upon rape survivor volunteers. Don't let them get away with such disgusting and unforgivable behaviour. You don't need to establish policies and guidelines to behave like an actual, caring human being. Anyone engaging in such horrible practices as described by several survivors has revealed themselves to be undeserving of the role.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

James Landrith
Rape Survivor
Member, RAINN Speakers' Bureau
Member/Speaker/Trainer, Virginia Sexual Domestic Violence Action Alliance

cc: Office of the Inspector General, Peace Corps