article posted April 3, 2008 (web only)
Another KBR Rape Case
Karen Houppert
Editor's Note: Lisa Smith is a pseudonym used on request. Additional reporting by Te-Ping Chen. Research support provided by the Investigative Fund of The Nation Institute.
Houston
It was an early January morning in 2008 when 42-year-old Lisa Smith*, a paramedic for a defense contractor in southern Iraq, woke up to find her entire room shaking. The shipping container that served as her living quarters was reverberating from nearby rocket attacks, and she was jolted awake to discover an awful reality. "Right then my whole life was turned upside down," she says.
What follows is the story she told me in a lengthy, painful on-the-record interview, conducted in a lawyer's office in Houston, Texas, while she was back from Iraq on a brief leave.
That dawn, naked, covered in blood and feces, bleeding from her anus, she found a US soldier she did not know lying naked in the bed next to her: his gun lay on the floor beside the bed, she could not rouse him and all she could remember of the night before was screaming and screaming as the soldier anally penetrated her while a colleague who worked for defense contractor KBR held her hand--but instead of helping her, as she had hoped, he jammed his penis in her mouth.
Over the next few weeks Smith would be told to keep quiet about the incident by a KBR supervisor. The camp's military liaison officer also told her not to speak about what had happened, she says. And she would follow these instructions. "Because then, all of a sudden, if you've done exactly what you've been instructed not to do--tell somebody--then you're in danger," Smith says.
As a brand-new arrival at Camp Harper, she had not yet forged many connections and was working in a red zone under regular rocket fire alongside the very men who had participated in the attack. (At one point, as the sole medical provider, she was even forced to treat one of her alleged assailants for a minor injury.) She waited two and a half weeks, until she returned to a much larger facility, to report the incident. "It's very easy for bad things to happen down there and not have it be even slightly suspicious."
go here for the rest
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert
KBR, as you know, has no US connection because they said they paid their employees from an offshore account. The US government may be able to allow a suit because of the tax shelter they set up for themselves in order to not play by the rules, they now want the protection of. The case came out last week that may have paved the way for others to be given some justice for what they have gone through with these rapes. Rape is a crime and not a dispute for an arbitrator to deal with. Much like the Catholic Arch Diocese decided that child abuse and rape was a bad thing to do instead of a crime, covering this up only comes back to bite them in the end. Let's pray in this case, they get the full Monty in terms of justice!
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jamie Leigh Jones case against KBR should go to court
Attys: Iraq Rape Case Belongs in Court
By JUAN A. LOZANO – 22 hours ago
HOUSTON (AP) — A woman who says co-workers raped her while she was a contractor in Iraq should have her case tried in court, not settled in private arbitration, her lawyer told a federal judge Wednesday.
In a federal lawsuit, Jamie Leigh Jones says she was drugged, raped and held against her will in a storage locker while working for KBR Inc., then a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., in 2005.
As part of her employment, Jones agreed to settle claims against the company in arbitration. But she never imagined such claims would include being imprisoned in a storage locker, said one of her attorneys, L. Todd Kelly.
Attorneys for Halliburton and KBR argued that the contract Jones signed binds her to settle all claims — including claims of sexual assault — against her former employer through arbitration.
Halliburton attorney W. Carl Jordan said that because the purported attack is said to have happened in Halliburton-provided barracks, it ties any claims Jones makes to her employment.
Attorneys for Halliburton, KBR and other subsidiaries that have been sued have disputed Jones' allegations. KBR split from Halliburton last year.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison is expected to rule at a later date.
Jones sued in May, saying she was raped by co-workers at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005
click post title for the rest
Since when has a crime like rape, gang rape on top of that, been considered an arbitration case instead of a crime?
By JUAN A. LOZANO – 22 hours ago
HOUSTON (AP) — A woman who says co-workers raped her while she was a contractor in Iraq should have her case tried in court, not settled in private arbitration, her lawyer told a federal judge Wednesday.
In a federal lawsuit, Jamie Leigh Jones says she was drugged, raped and held against her will in a storage locker while working for KBR Inc., then a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., in 2005.
As part of her employment, Jones agreed to settle claims against the company in arbitration. But she never imagined such claims would include being imprisoned in a storage locker, said one of her attorneys, L. Todd Kelly.
Attorneys for Halliburton and KBR argued that the contract Jones signed binds her to settle all claims — including claims of sexual assault — against her former employer through arbitration.
Halliburton attorney W. Carl Jordan said that because the purported attack is said to have happened in Halliburton-provided barracks, it ties any claims Jones makes to her employment.
Attorneys for Halliburton, KBR and other subsidiaries that have been sued have disputed Jones' allegations. KBR split from Halliburton last year.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison is expected to rule at a later date.
Jones sued in May, saying she was raped by co-workers at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005
click post title for the rest
Since when has a crime like rape, gang rape on top of that, been considered an arbitration case instead of a crime?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
When did rape stop being a crime? When it's Halliburton
Sex Assault Suit Vs. Halliburton Killed
Alleged Sexual Assault Victim's Case Forced Into Secretive Arbitration
By MADDY SAUER and JUSTIN ROOD
Feb. 6, 2008
A mother of five who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq is headed for a secretive arbitration process rather than being able to present her case in open court.
A judge in Texas has ruled that Tracy Barker's case will be heard in arbitration, according to the terms of her initial employment contract.
Barker says that while in Iraq she was constantly propositioned by her superior, threatened and isolated after she reported an incident of sexual assault.
Barker's attorneys had argued that Halliburton/KBR had created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at their camps and that sort of condition is not the type of dispute that she could have expected to be within the scope of an arbitration provision.
District Judge Gray Miller, however, wrote in his order that "whether it is wise to send this type of claim to arbitration is not a question for this court to decide."
"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."
Barker says it was a reality at Halliburton/KBR. From the moment she arrived at the Halliburton/KBR camp in Basra, Iraq, she says she was treated like a sex object.
go here for the rest
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4249898&page=1
When did this stop being a crime? How can any judge in their right mind say it's a matter of arbitration?
Alleged Sexual Assault Victim's Case Forced Into Secretive Arbitration
By MADDY SAUER and JUSTIN ROOD
Feb. 6, 2008
A mother of five who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq is headed for a secretive arbitration process rather than being able to present her case in open court.
A judge in Texas has ruled that Tracy Barker's case will be heard in arbitration, according to the terms of her initial employment contract.
Barker says that while in Iraq she was constantly propositioned by her superior, threatened and isolated after she reported an incident of sexual assault.
Barker's attorneys had argued that Halliburton/KBR had created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at their camps and that sort of condition is not the type of dispute that she could have expected to be within the scope of an arbitration provision.
District Judge Gray Miller, however, wrote in his order that "whether it is wise to send this type of claim to arbitration is not a question for this court to decide."
"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."
Barker says it was a reality at Halliburton/KBR. From the moment she arrived at the Halliburton/KBR camp in Basra, Iraq, she says she was treated like a sex object.
go here for the rest
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4249898&page=1
When did this stop being a crime? How can any judge in their right mind say it's a matter of arbitration?
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Women At War, Reservist on trial in alleged barracks rape
Reservist on trial in alleged barracks rape
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 8, 2008 14:57:50 EST
LEBANON, Pa. — An Army Reserve sergeant is on trial this week, accused of raping a female reservist in a barracks during training last year at Fort Indiantown Gap.
Robert Lee Shackelford is a member of the 233rd Quartermasters Company based in Philadelphia. Authorities say the 45-year-old from Dover, Del., assaulted the woman last March.
Lawyers for both sides gave opening statements Monday. Lebanon County prosecutor Megan Ryland-Tanner says the jury will hear from several dozen witnesses, including soldiers who saw or heard the attack.
Defense attorney Erin Zimmerer says there’s no physical evidence that Shackelford raped the woman.
click post title for link
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 8, 2008 14:57:50 EST
LEBANON, Pa. — An Army Reserve sergeant is on trial this week, accused of raping a female reservist in a barracks during training last year at Fort Indiantown Gap.
Robert Lee Shackelford is a member of the 233rd Quartermasters Company based in Philadelphia. Authorities say the 45-year-old from Dover, Del., assaulted the woman last March.
Lawyers for both sides gave opening statements Monday. Lebanon County prosecutor Megan Ryland-Tanner says the jury will hear from several dozen witnesses, including soldiers who saw or heard the attack.
Defense attorney Erin Zimmerer says there’s no physical evidence that Shackelford raped the woman.
click post title for link
Sunday, October 28, 2007
N.J. center to aid assaulted female vets
N.J. center to aid assaulted female vets
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (UPI) -- A Veterans Administration treatment center is set to open in Bernards Township, N.J., to help female veterans who have been sexually assaulted.
The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger said Sunday that with the number of assault and harassment cases involving female soldiers increasing dramatically, the new center will provide treatment to those suffering from a condition known as military sexual trauma.
The healthcare facility, which opens its doors in December, will be the first residential VA center that focuses on the increasingly prevalent condition.
The center was created following the findings of an ongoing VA screening process that found 20 percent of female soldiers leaving the military encountered a form of sexual trauma during their service, the report said.
go here for the rest
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (UPI) -- A Veterans Administration treatment center is set to open in Bernards Township, N.J., to help female veterans who have been sexually assaulted.
The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger said Sunday that with the number of assault and harassment cases involving female soldiers increasing dramatically, the new center will provide treatment to those suffering from a condition known as military sexual trauma.
The healthcare facility, which opens its doors in December, will be the first residential VA center that focuses on the increasingly prevalent condition.
The center was created following the findings of an ongoing VA screening process that found 20 percent of female soldiers leaving the military encountered a form of sexual trauma during their service, the report said.
go here for the rest
From Africa to America with trauma and after
Double Life: The Public Face and Private Pain of Torture Victims in Minnesota
by: Abdi Aynte
Sat Oct 27, 2007 at 5:44:46 PM
Like many other torture victims, Iftu has a dual identity: In public, she's a happy and hard-working immigrant whose gregarious outlook doesn't give a hint of the horrors she suffered in her native Ethiopia. In private, she's a rape victim and a patient at a local psychological treatment center.
"It's getting harder and harder to keep up with my two identities," said Iftu, who didn't want to give her last name.
She's one of an estimated half million torture victims in the United States. Minnesota has an estimated 30,000. That number is too high for the state because of higher immigration rate per capita, said Rosa Garcia-Peltoniemi, a senior consulting clinician with The Center for Victims of Torture, or CVT. The Minneapolis-based center is a national leader in the field.
Speaking at an immigrant roundtable Friday, Garcia-Peltoniemi said "the stigma associated with torture is a barrier to treatment," but is common.
click above for the rest
by: Abdi Aynte
Sat Oct 27, 2007 at 5:44:46 PM
Like many other torture victims, Iftu has a dual identity: In public, she's a happy and hard-working immigrant whose gregarious outlook doesn't give a hint of the horrors she suffered in her native Ethiopia. In private, she's a rape victim and a patient at a local psychological treatment center.
"It's getting harder and harder to keep up with my two identities," said Iftu, who didn't want to give her last name.
She's one of an estimated half million torture victims in the United States. Minnesota has an estimated 30,000. That number is too high for the state because of higher immigration rate per capita, said Rosa Garcia-Peltoniemi, a senior consulting clinician with The Center for Victims of Torture, or CVT. The Minneapolis-based center is a national leader in the field.
Speaking at an immigrant roundtable Friday, Garcia-Peltoniemi said "the stigma associated with torture is a barrier to treatment," but is common.
click above for the rest
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)