Dear Friends:
I just learned about Jamie Leigh Jones, a former Halliburton/KBR
employee in Iraq, and her courageous actions to save women from
sexual harassment and assault in the military.
War is hell for everyone involved. For women, this hell can be
especially deep. Recruiters don't tell those who enlist that 30% of
military women will be sexually assaulted while serving. Women who
work as contract employees in Iraq face similar dangers.
Jamie Leigh Jones recently testified at a Congressional hearing
that she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by her co-workers in
2005. Three years later, KBR and the military have failed to punish
the perpetrators or provide redress for Jamie Leigh.
Since Jamie Leigh spoke out, 38 U.S. women, all contract employees
in Iraq, have come forward to report crimes of sexual harassment
and assault in the workplace. Halliburton/KBR has failed to protect
the safety of its contract employees, and, in fact, has fostered an
environment wherein sexual violence is accepted. Moreover, the
company requires employees to sign a private arbitration agreement,
forcing them to give up their right to sue the company or have a
trial by jury.
"Halliburton is trying to force this into a secret proceeding,
which will do nothing to prevent continued abuses of this nature,"
Jamie Leigh told Congress. "The United States government has to
provide people with their day in court when they have been raped
and assaulted by other American citizens."
Due to Halliburton/KBR's pattern of fraudulent and abusive
behavior, including fostering a work environment conducive to
violence against its own employees, we let's call upon Mr. Robert
Kittel, Suspension and Debarment Official of the U.S. Army Legal
Services Agency, to debar Halliburton/KBR from future contracts in
Iraq.
1. Click here to read CODEPINKer Medea Benjamin's letter to Mr.
Kittel (http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?id=3988)
2. Click here to send your own letter using this sample email
(http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?id=3987)
3. Please also sign this petition in support of the Jamie Leigh Act
of 2008, which mandates that companies report criminal violations
and provide this information to new employees. ( http://
salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/4589/petition.jsp?
petition_KEY=922 )
For more information, please read the recent New York Times
article, "Limbo for U.S. Women Reporting Iraq Assaults" (http://
www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/world/middleeast/13contractors.html) and
see www.jamiesfoundation.org.
Thank you for helping women hold abusive companies accountable and
provide justice to courageous women like Jamie Leigh.
Blessings,
John
John, I'm glad you brought this up. Rapine didn't start with women in the military. War and soldiery brutalize everyone, especially those in the lower ranks. Halliburton (Dick Cheney's company) simply carries the progression a bit closer to its logical conclusion.
You can't be a soldier without hate. By and large, soldiers hate women in combat areas. I don't think we should place women in that position.
8-D
Here are a few recent news stories on women in the military. For those who are interested in this topic a good source is www.minervacenter.com
EXCERPT
The truth is, more and more military women are fighting and killing the enemy. As they do, they're battling their way into unfamiliar territory. Because, when it comes to women and killing, very little is known about the consequences for the military, for our society or even for the women themselves.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR200802...
EXCERPT
Hailed as a triumph for women's rights, the Rome Statute was to put an end to the impunity that's often met these crimes. But six years on, as the world gets set once again to mark International Women's Day on Saturday, progress in the court has been painfully slow.
"We have yet to see the investigative approach needed to ensure the prosecution of gender-based crimes," says Brigid Inder, executive director of Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, a Hague-based group that promotes and monitors women's rights in the international court.
The numbers paint a disappointing picture. The court has issued warrants against 10 people – in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Sudan. Five of those remain at large and not one has been convicted yet. Of the 10 warrants, only a few include gender-based crimes – even though women continue to be common targets in conflicts around the world.
In Iraq, victims of rape are often blamed for their plight and forced to marry their attackers. In Colombia, rebels use women as sexual slaves. In Burma (also known as Myanmar), women are regularly attacked by the ruling junta's soldiers.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GlobalVoices/article/308784
EXCERPT
n 2003, a firestorm of media reports and investigations, prompted by an anonymous whistleblower at the Air Force Academy, exposed the prevalence of sexual assault in the armed forces and its training centers. That same year, the results of a study conducted by Dr. Anne Sadler of the Iowa City VA Medical Center found 28 percent of female veterans having suffered MST while on active duty.
In response, Congress called on the Department of Defense to overhaul its approach to sexual assault within its ranks. The 2005 defense authorization bill mandated the creation of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), which, according to its website, has since served as “the single point of accountability and oversight for sexual assault policy.”
SAPRO has made many strides in fine-tuning the Uniform Code of Military Justice and encouraging MST reporting. It has held a range of workshops, trainings and outreach campaigns to define and denounce sexual assault. It also has set up a website to educate service members on how to deal with—and deter—the crime. At the same time, Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) and victim advocates have been stationed on every major base to coordinate victims’ services.
However, according to many women, the reforms are missing the mark.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3541/silenced_in_the_barracks/
Linda Grant De Pauw
Magical Godmother
20 Granada Road
Pasadena, MD 21122
410-437-5379
[email protected]
thanks for the follow-up on my post. sSme things are worse than we imagine.
Blessings,
John