Fellow PCVs, RPCVs, and Concerned Individuals,



Peace Corps is an organization dedicated to serving vulnerable communities worldwide. However, recent events within Peace Corps Albania have revealed disconcerting practices regarding its procedures for handling potential sexual assault cases. Specifically, we are concerned with how Peace Corps addresses allegations made by Host Country Nationals (HCNs) against Peace Corps Staff or Volunteers (V/Ts).

It has become apparent that Peace Corps policies do not support HCNs victimized by Peace Corps Staff or Volunteers. Additionally, it is unclear to what extent V/Ts and Staff are held accountable for documented wrongdoing. Current policy gives the opportunity for Staff and Volunteers in violation of the Sexual Misconduct Policy to resign in lieu of termination or administrative separation. Therefore, to begin to rectify this situation, all signatories of this document demand the following:

Host-country victim services should be offered to HCN victims when the perpetrator comes from within our organization.

The Peace Corps' Sexual Misconduct Policy must be amended to offer less leniency to the accused V/T when the Office of Inspector General or Hearing Panel discovers substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct. A zero tolerance policy, where the only appropriate disciplinary action is administrative separation, should be enacted immediately.

Specific evidence supporting proposed policy changes can be found in the following documents, organized into "Proposed HCN Victim Services" and "OIG Reports: Resignation in Lieu of Termination."

Our presence in the countries we vow to serve should challenge inequalities, not contribute to them. Sign this petition if you support these changes.



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November 21st is the 4th anniversary of the Kate Puzey Act and we are gathering information regarding how the act has been implemented. This survey has been created by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in conjunction with the organization First Response Action. We are not currently representing or acting on behalf of Peace Corps. Any identifying information (i.e. names, contact information), will be kept confidential and will not be used without your permission. By completing this survey, you are submitting data that will be combined with other responses to statistically demonstrate the PCV experience on a factual basis. Please share this survey with your friends who are PCVs or RPCVs! Feel free to send an email to myservicestory@gmail.com for more information.



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