Under Conditions of Hardship': The Peace Corps' Catch-22 for Survivors of Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence

• Author: E.L. Tremblay
• Position: Georgetown Law, J.D. 2023; Colgate University, B.A. 2016
• Pages: 1533-1588

“Under Conditions of Hardship”: The Peace Corps’

Catch-22 for Survivors of Sexual- and Gender-

Based Violence

E.L. TREMBLAY*

The Peace Corps’ treatment of Volunteers and trainees, particularly

with regard to the policies and permissiveness surrounding sexual- and

gender-based violence, reflects and perpetuates workplace sex discrimi-

nation. Because the agency fails to collect adequate data, it is impossible

to determine the precise nature and degree of the problem, but it is likely

worse than what annual reports have described as a persistently growing

crisis despite twenty years of criticism, activism, and reform efforts.

Without legally enforceable accountability mechanisms—the simplest

and most effective of which would be to recognize Volunteers and train-

ees as federal employees—the discrimination is likely to continue.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1534

I. CAUSES OF SEXUAL- AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE DURING SERVICE . . 1547

A. EXISTING LAWS AND POLICIES FAIL TO PROTECT VOLUNTEERS . . . . . . 1548

1. Hiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1549

2. In-Service Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1553

3. Medical Evacuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1557

4. Pay . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1559

5. Firing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1561

B. THE PEACE CORPS FAILS TO FOLLOW EXISTING POLICIES AND LAWS . . 1565

C. THE PEACE CORPS FOSTERS A TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE . . . . . . . . 1569

II. SOLUTIONS AND POLICY PROPOSALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1576

A. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1576

* Georgetown Law, J.D. 2023; Colgate University, B.A. 2016. © 2023, E.L. Tremblay. This Note is

dedicated to every trainee and Volunteer whose service was complicated because of the Peace Corps

itself, and especially to all of the survivors I have had the privilege of talking to, learning from, and

befriending. Many thanks to Professor Jamillah Bowman Williams and The Georgetown Law Journal

staff for making this writing the best it could possibly be, and to the family and friends who helped me

survive to write this.

1533

B. INCREMENTAL REFORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1583

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1586

INTRODUCTION

At least one-third of Peace Corps Volunteers and trainees

1

There are four phases for nonstaff Peace Corps workers. First, a successful applicant offered a

position to serve as a Volunteer following interviews is an invitee who must complete medical and legal

screenings prior to departure. Robyn Cadwallader, You’ve Accepted Your Invitation. Now What?, PEACE

CORPS (May 31, 2017), https://www.peacecorps.gov/stories/youve-accepted-your-invitation-now-what/

[https://perma.cc/3AGX-WKJ5]. Upon arrival in country, an invitee becomes a trainee, with typically

around three months of pre-service training to complete before being invited to serve. Justin Tabor,

What is Peace Corps’ Training Like?, PEACE CORPS (May 6, 2021), https://www.peacecorps.gov/

stories/what-is-peace-corps-training-like/ [https://perma.cc/7YHV-6WJ2]. Once invited to serve, the

trainee swears in to become a Volunteer, agreeing to serve in their host community, “[u]nder conditions

of hardship, if necessary,” usually for twenty-four months. See Lora King, Do I Have to Say “I’ll Go

Anywhere”?, PEACE CORPS (May 30, 2020), https://www.peacecorps.gov/stories/do-i-have-say-ill-go-

anywhere/ [https://perma.cc/D4CM-6XZ2]; see also @peacecorpshr, HR Report #84, INSTAGRAM (Mar.

13, 2021), https://www.instagram.com/p/CMXv-WVBgPV/ (“I thought the reason she treated me that

way was because she was racist. . . . The host country nationals said my host mom was notoriously racist

towards the darker-skinned communities there. It was a slap in the face. The whole time, I was right. But

the Peace Corps staff made it seem like I was just incapable of adjusting to the culture. . . . [M]y Country

Director dismissed it too, just quoting the oath that I took to serve under the conditions of hardship.”).

Finally, after service, a Volunteer becomes a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). See Returned

Volunteers, PEACE CORPS, https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-volunteers/ [https://perma.cc/LDW7-

MS43] (last visited May 15, 2023).

experience sexual

violence

2

The term “sexual violence” in this Note covers the three categories of data captured by the Peace

Corps—and used in a USA Today article discussing this issue. See Donovan Slack & Tricia L. Nadolny,

Peace Corps Sex Assaults Up, USA TODAY, Apr. 26, 2021, at A6. First, “rape,” which the Peace Corps

defines as “[p]enetration, no matter how slight, of a Volunteer’s vagina or anus with any body part or

object, or oral penetration by another person’s sex organ, without the consent of the Volunteer, including

when the Volunteer is incapacitated or otherwise incapable of consenting.” OFF. OF SAFETY & SEC., PEACE

CORPS, 2020 ANNUAL REPORT OF CRIMES AGAINST VOLUNTEERS 20 (2021), https://files.peacecorps.gov/

documents/open-government/2020_Annual_Report_of_Crimes_Against_Volunteers.pdf [https://perma.cc/

K49D-XMQJ]. Second, “aggravated sexual assault,” which is defined by the Peace Corps as

[i]ntentional contact, either directly or through clothing, with a Volunteer’s genitalia, anus,

groin, breasts, thigh, or buttocks; or kissing or disrobing a Volunteer; or forcing a Volunteer

to contact someone’s genitalia, anus, groin, breast, thigh, or buttocks; or the attempt to carry

out any of these acts and there is use or threatened use of a weapon, or use or threatened use

of force or other intimidating action, or the Volunteer is [incapacitated] or otherwise incapa-

ble of consenting.

Id. Finally, “non-aggravated sexual assault,” which the Peace Corps defines as

[i]ntentional contact, either directly or through clothing, with a Volunteer’s genitalia, anus,

groin, breast, thigh, or buttocks; or kissing a Volunteer on the mouth, ear, or neck; or touch-

ing a Volunteer with the offender’s genitalia, either directly or through clothing, or

offender’s semen or vaginal fluids (no matter which body part is touched); or attempts to

carry out any of those acts.

Id.

during the twenty-seven months

3

Is Peace Corps Right for Me?, PEACE CORPS, https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/is-peace-

corps-right-for-me/ [https://perma.cc/HYR6-ATX3] (last visited May 15, 2023).

they work abroad for the federal

1.

2.

3.

1534 THE GEORGETOWN LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 111:1533

agency; that number increases to forty-four percent when narrowed to those iden-

tifying as women, and has roughly doubled in just five years.

4

Many incidents

reportedly arise from the Peace Corps violating its own rules

5

See, e.g., Lisa Rein, Peace Corps Volunteers Tell of Sexual Assaults, WASH. POST, Sept. 2, 2011,

at A16 (“The stories have common threads: unsafe housing, a slow or hostile response by local police, a

minimal response by Peace Corps staff and discouragement from pursuing justice.”); @peacecorpshr,

HR Report #9, INSTAGRAM (May 12, 2019), https://www.instagram.com/p/BxYwEngFTPO/ (“In my

first host home I was constantly harassed by my host dad. He would make sexual comments to me in

front of my host mom and often come home drunk while I was alone. I called to ask about a house

change and PC [Peace Corps] told me to find a new home for myself, although they said in PST [Pre-

Service Training] that every community had at least 2 backup homes. I received zero support in locating

a new family or moving my belongings. I was in that unsafe living situation for over a month, and the

family was never held accountable for their actions, being told by PC staff that I had ‘felt very at home

in their house and was so appreciative to them for taking me in.’”); @peacecorpshr, HR Report #10,

INSTAGRAM (May 13, 2019), https://www.instagram.com/p/BxaSrlOFKl3/ (“I was sexually assaulted in

my host home in front of my entire extended host family at a party. No one helped me, so afterwards I

locked myself in my room while my abuser (a family friend) continued to dance through the night right

outside. My host family immediately blamed me for it. They said I should’ve fought harder to get him

off. When I reported it, staff took no action to remove me from the home. I was told by a staff member

after disclosing my trauma that I was ‘blessed because you had the ability to get out if needed.’ Months

later, I asked to move due to my family continuing to bring my abuser around. Staff told me to look for

my own home, anonymously, in my small town, even though they promised they had backup housing

for all sites in PST. When I asked for support, for fear of my family finding out, I was shut down.”).

or willfully neglect-

ing Volunteers’ and trainees’ well-being.

6

See Slack & Nadolny, supra note 2; @peacecorpshr, HR Report #11, INSTAGRAM (May 14, 2019),

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxdA-K7FG0E/ (“I was sexually assaulted by my host father most of my

service. S&S [Safety & Security] and the CD [Country Director] were aware of the issue, but they didn’t

remove me from my site or even acknowledge it until I contacted the SARL [Sexual Assault Response

Liaison]. My CD was unwilling to work with me and basically pushed me out of the country (I was

attempting to relocate to a Response position). At my post, S&S had no idea how to deal with sexual

assault related cases. They basically told me that I was misunderstanding things that were happening to

me. Things like having my butt grabbed and being pushed up against the wall of my bedroom. After

living at the provincial house for almost 3 months I was medically separated just because they forgot I

was there.”); @peacecorpshr, HR Report #40, INSTAGRAM (Oct. 5, 2019), https://www.instagram.com/p/

B3QtnVyB9gu/ (“My sitemate (yes, the other PCV [Peace Corps Volunteer] at my site) raped me

multiple times during my service, and abused me physically and emotionally. When I told the PCMO

[Peace Corps Medical Officer] after the first time, she asked me if I was sure he’d raped me and if I was

trying to get sent home. I shut up, went back to site, and was hurt more. A year later I told the CD

[Country Director] what my sitemate had been doing to me throughout my service because I couldn’t

stand being his prisoner anymore. The CD believed me and helped keep me safe, but ultimately I was

medsepped [medically separated, meaning fired] due to PTSD. The good news is that the Volunteer was

adsepped [terminated] for what he did to me. But I wish I’d been able to punish him more. And I wish

the PCMO had believed me in the first place.”).

Though the Peace Corps suggests that

the apparent rise in sexual assaults is merely because of increased reporting stem-

ming from successful implementation of the Sexual Assault Prevention and

Response Program (SAPRP),

7

OFF. OF SAFETY & SEC., PEACE CORPS, 2019 ANNUAL REPORT OF CRIMES AGAINST VOLUNTEERS

20 (2020), https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/open-government/Annual_Report_of_Crimes_

Against_Volunteers_2019.pdf [https://perma.cc/JP6B-KGU2] (“The increase in reports of sexual

assaults coincides with the implementation and maturation of the Peace Corps Sexual Assault Risk

Reduction and Response Program (SARRRP). One of the goals of SARRRP has been to reduce barriers

to Volunteers reporting sexual assaults to staff.”). For more information on the SARRRP, since renamed

the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, see Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

the rate of crime against Volunteers and trainees

4. Slack & Nadolny, supra note 2.

5.

6.

7.

2023] “UNDER CONDITIONS OF HARDSHIP” 1535