Through the Dark

The lighthearted fare I usually enjoy writing will be interrupted today, as this post is about a very serious topic.

This week a special aired on 20/20 that talked about the murder of a female Volunteer in Benin, Kate Puzey, in addition to accounts of sexual assaults experienced by female Peace Corps Volunteers in various countries.

In case anyone saw the special and are particularly worried about me, or if someone is thinking about or in the process of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer, I wanted to address the issue of sexual assault and safety here.

I will spare you the details of the special, as I have included the link above if you wish to watch it yourself, but suffice to say that several of the accounts sound like one of the most horrific and terrifying things a human being can experience, and my full compassion goes out to all Peace Corps women who have been victims of sexual assault and harassment.

Secondly, I want to recognize that these women are certainly brave for coming forward on a national TV program to talk about what happened to them, and I think it says something that they feel strongly enough in their views toward the Peace Corps that they decided to speak out.

I want to say that even as a female Peace Corps Volunteer myself, I cannot personally understand what these women went through. Every country, post and experience is as different and varied as the volunteers and countries themselves. Therefore, I don't particularly like it when statements are made that begin with "The Peace Corps is like this" or "Peace Corps Volunteers feel that" or "The Peace Corps is at fault for this." While there may be SOME overarching themes that unite Peace Corps and Volunteer experiences, there are many more that contribute to an experience which is very unique to individuals in those countries.

Obviously, as a governmental organization, when something bad happens the entire agency is deemed to be at fault. There are reasons for this and many of those are valid, so I am in no way trivializing what was said by the victims. My main point is that I am deeply saddened that these reports might deter a really great volunteer candidate because they are led to believe that "Peace Corps" or "insert country here" is not safe for female American Volunteers. It's possible that in some or all of the cases mentioned on 20/20 there was a problem with a single staff member at a country post who wasn't doing an adequate job or in some way failed to truly understand how dangerous the situation was. I cannot speak to the stories because I have no idea what transpired, but this is a guess I'm venturing given what it sounds like the women were saying.

As for my own experience, personally during Training we had many hours of presentations on all safety and security topics, with an entire day devoted to sexual harassment, assault, reporting it and Georgian law regarding it. These sessions have been rehashed during trainings we receive once a year at our All Volunteer Conferences. Additionally, we are continually reminded about safety and security through emails, newsletters, text messages and the actions of the Volunteer Safety and Security committee (of which I am a member), which is led by our Safety and Security Coordinator. Her sole job is to deal with all aspects of Georgia Volunteer safety and security. As a Georgian woman, I feel that she understands the issues volunteers face, particularly females.

Every time I have had even a small problem, I've always felt comfortable knowing that I could inform her of the situation and knowing she would help me resolve it. I can also say that there have been situations where volunteers felt unsafe and were subsequently moved as a result. So I felt it was worth sharing that I and other female PCVs in Georgia (I can't speak for everyone, but at least those that I've talked to) feel relatively safe on a daily basis and feel that we have options if we feel threatened in some way.

One very unfortunate thing missing from the 20/20 expose is the fact that we have some MAJOR issues in many/most developing countries with the way that women are seen/treated in society. Peace Corps as an organization works to better itself internally based on all volunteer feedback and country-specific issues (trust me, I fill out PLENTY of these forms) without the aid of 20/20. I think the program squandered an opportunity to help women worldwide by mentioning what viewers can do to help ensure that these kinds of actions don't occur because of the "lower status" of women in the countries where PCV's serve.

I find it incredible that many/most of the men involved in these heinous crimes will NEVER be punished for their actions, either because these actions are deemed "societally acceptable" or because of corruption in the police force that ensures "friends" won't be challenged, much less convicted. Viewers of the program (many of whom were no doubt outraged and have made some pretty ignorant remarks about the organization as a result) can use this as an opportunity for GOOD by donating to international women's funds that encourage women's education, leadership, fitness and business development.

By creating options for women's upward mobility and introducing educational programs in these countries, we can help eliminate the sexist and often disgusting tragedies that occur as a result of the narrow-minded thinking that helped create these dangerous situations in the first place.

To sum everything up, given a lot of the terrible things that happen in today's world both in the US and abroad, I hope that if we cannot move past the actions that devastate so many, we can at least do better as a society. We can spread less hate and condescension, and more love and understanding. Maybe we can't solve all the problems of the world, but we can make a positive impact on those around us and those we care for. My challenge for 2011 is to be a part of the solution, and I hope you will make it yours as well.