New Members of Peace Corps Sexual Assault Advisory Council

The Peace Corps Sexual Assault Advisory Council was mandated by Sec. 8 D. of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection of 2011. Kate Puzey was a Volunteer in Benin. She was murdered. Her murder remains unsolved.  Kate Puzey was a teacher and she had complained to the Peace Corps Office that a Host National Teacher, with an association with the Peace Corps, was sexually exploiting her female students. She was murdered shortly after making this report.  It is widely believed that her murder was in retaliation for her report. This remains speculation because her murderers have not brought to justice.

In the Congressional hearings as the bill was being considered, RPCV women testified about their experience as sexual assault victims during Peace Corps service. The legislation is designed to address this problem. Sexual exploitation of young women in host countries who want to get an education is not addressed by this legislation. It is difficult for the United States to mandate legal remedies  in host countries.  However, the current joint Peace Corps White House effort to promote “Let Girls Learn” may well begin to change attitudes towards young women’s education all over the world.

In response to a FOIA request, Peace Corps has provided the names of the new members of the Sexual Assault Advisory Council.

To read the bill, here is the link:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1280enr/pdf/BILLS-112s1280enr.pdf

2015 Peace Corps Sexual Assault Advisory Council Members

Council Chair: Carmella P. Donahue, Director, Outreach and Training,Overseas Citizen Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC

Council Members:

Alex Amorin, Clinical Director, Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA), Charlottesville, VA (also a RPCV)

Joanne Archambault,  Executive Director, End Violence Against Women International,Addy, WA

Matt Bakko, RPCV Representative, Brown School of Social Work, St. Louis, MO

Meg Biallas, Online Communications Manager, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, Washington, DC

Autumn  Gardner, RPCV Representative,  Boulder, CO

Dr. Mark Hathaway, MD, Director Family Planning & Title X Services, Washington, DC (also RPCV)

Dr. Suzanne Holroyd, Department of Defense Prevention Outreach, OSD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, Alexandria, VA

Dr. Jim Hopper, Independent Consultant & Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Beverly Horn, Independent Consultant, Titusville, PA

Nicole Irwin, Independent Consultant, Presque Isles,  Maine

Sally Laskey, Director of Special Projects, National Sexual Violence Resource Center,Enola, PA

Jen Markowitz, ND, RN, WHNP-BC, SANE-A, Forensic Nursing Consultant, Alexandria, VA

Dr. Monica Patton, MD, LCDR, US Public Health Medical Epidemiologist, Epidemiology & Statistics Branch, Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control, Decatur, GA (also RPCV)

Kristina Rose, Deputy Director, Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC

Aurelia Sands Belle, Executive Director, Durham Crisis Response Center, Durham, NC Lillian Scheer, RPCV Representative, Shepherd,  MT

Susan Smith Howley, Director of Public Policy, National Center for Victims of Crime, Washington, DC

Lauren Ware, Chief, Forensics and Special Investigative Skills Branch, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Brunswick, GA