II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1280 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to require sexual assault risk-reduction and 

response training, the development of sexual assault protocol and guidelines, the establishment of victims advocates, the establishment of a 

Sexual Assault Advisory Council, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 27, 2011 

Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. CHAMBLISS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to require sexual assault 

risk-reduction and response training, the development of 

sexual assault protocol and guidelines, the establishment 

of victims advocates, the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory Council, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kate Puzey Peace 

5 Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER PROTECTION. 

2 The Peace Corps Act is amended by inserting after 

3 section 8 (22 U.S.C. 2507) the following new sections: 

4 ‘‘SEXUAL ASSAULT RISK-REDUCTION AND RESPONSE

5 TRAINING

6 ‘‘SEC. 8A. (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the training 

7 provided to all volunteers under section 8(a), the Director 

8 of the Peace Corps shall develop and implement com9 prehensive sexual assault risk-reduction and response 

10 training that conforms to best practices in the sexual as11 sault field as appropriate for first responders and other 

12 staff. 

13 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT AND CONSULTATION WITH EX14 PERTS.—In developing the sexual assault risk-reduction 

15 and response training under subsection (a), the Director 

16 of the Peace Corps shall consult with and incorporate, as 

17 appropriate, the recommendations and views of experts in 

18 the sexual assault field. 

19 ‘‘(c) SUBSEQUENT TRAINING.—Once a trainee has 

20 arrived in the trainee’s country of service, the Director of 

21 the Peace Corps shall provide the trainee with training 

22 tailored to the country, including cultural training relating 

23 to gender relations, risk-reduction strategies, a safety plan 

24 in the event of an assault, treatment available in such 

25 country (such as forensic rape exams, PEP for HIV expo26 sure, STD screening, and pregnancy testing), MedEvac 


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1 procedures, and information regarding the legal process 

2 for pressing charges against an attacker. 

3 ‘‘(d) HISTORICAL ANALYSIS.—The Director of the 

4 Peace Corps shall provide each applicant for enrollment 

5 with a historical analysis of crimes and risks against vol6 unteers in the country in which the applicant has been 

7 invited to serve. 

8 ‘‘(e) CONTACT INFORMATION.—The Director of the 

9 Peace Corps shall provide each trainee, before each such 

10 trainee enrolls as a volunteer, with— 

11 ‘‘(1) the contact information of the Inspector 

12 General of the Peace Corps for purposes of reporting 

13 violations of the sexual assault protocol under sec14 tion 8B or any other criminal or administrative 

15 wrongdoing by volunteers, personnel (including ex16 perts and consultants), or other individuals (includ17 ing contractors) who do business with the Peace 

18 Corps; and 

19 ‘‘(2) clear, written guidelines regarding whom 

20 to contact, including the direct telephone number for 

21 a victim advocate and what steps to take in the 

22 event of a sexual assault. 

23 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and sections 8B 

24 through 8G: 

25 ‘‘(1) ASSAULT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘assault’ 

2 means an act that— 

3 ‘‘(i) creates an apprehension in an in4 dividual of an imminent, harmful, or offen5 sive contact; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) is a harmful or offensive touch7 ing. 

8 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘assault’ in9 cludes stalking and sexual assault. 

10 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as11 sault’ means any conduct described in chapter 109A 

12 of title 18, United States Code, relating to 

13 aggrevated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual 

14 conduct, whether or not the conduct occurs in the 

15 special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the 

16 United States, and includes both assaults committed 

17 by offenders who are strangers to the victim and as18 saults committed by offenders who are known or re19 lated by blood or marriage to the victim. 

20 ‘‘(3) STALKING.—The term ‘stalking’ means 

21 engaging in a course of conduct directed at a spe22 cific person that would cause a reasonable person 

23 to— 

24 ‘‘(A) fear for his or her safety or the safety 

25 of others; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) suffer substantial emotional distress. 

2 ‘‘(4) INCLUSION OF TRAINEES.—The term ‘vol3 unteers’ includes trainees. 

4 ‘‘SEXUAL ASSAULT PROTOCOL AND GUIDELINES

5 ‘‘SEC. 8B. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

6 Peace Corps shall develop and implement comprehensive 

7 sexual assault protocol and guidelines that— 

8 ‘‘(1) conform to best practices in the sexual assault 

9 field; and 

10 ‘‘(2) are applicable to all posts at which volunteers 

11 serve. 

12 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT AND CONSULTATION WITH EX13 PERTS.—In developing the sexual assault policy under 

14 subsection (a), the Director of the Peace Corps shall con15 sult with and incorporate, as appropriate, the rec16 ommendations and views of experts in the sexual assault 

17 field. 

18 ‘‘(c) ELEMENTS.—The sexual assault protocol and 

19 guidelines developed under subsection (a) shall include, at 

20 a minimum, the following services with respect to a volun21 teer who has been a victim of sexual assault: 

22 ‘‘(1) Protection of such volunteer’s confidentiality. 

23 ‘‘(2) Provision of a victim’s advocate to the volunteer. 

24 ‘‘(3) Provision of a sexual assault forensic evidence 

25 kit to the volunteer upon request. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Provision of emergency health care to the volun2 teer, including, to the greatest extent practicable, a choice 

3 of medical providers and a mechanism for such volunteer 

4 to evaluate such provider. 

5 ‘‘(5) Provision of counseling and psychiatric 

6 medecine. 

7 ‘‘(6) Completion of a safety and treatment plan with 

8 the volunteer. 

9 ‘‘(7) Evacuation of the volunteer, accompanied by a 

10 Peace Corps staffer at the request of such volunteer. 

11 ‘‘(8) An explanation to the volunteer of available law 

12 enforcement, prosecutorial options, and legal representa13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION AND TRAINING.—The Director 

15 of the Peace Corps shall distribute to and train all in16 country staff regarding the sexual assault protocol and 

17 guidelines developed under subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(e) REMOVAL AND ASSESSMENT AND EVALUA19 TION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a volunteer feels at risk 

21 of imminent bodily harm and requests removal from 

22 the site in which such volunteer is serving, the Di23 rector of the Peace Corps shall, as expeditiously as 

24 practical after receiving such request, remove the 

25 volunteer from the site. If the Director of the Peace 


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1 Corps receives such a request, the Director of the 

2 Peace Corps shall assess and evaluate the safety of 

3 such site and may not assign another volunteer to 

4 the site until such time as the assessment and eval5 uation is complete and the site has been determined 

6 to be safe. 

7 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF SITE AS UNSAFE.— 

8 Volunteers may remain at a site during an assess9 ment and evaluation under paragraph (1). If the Di10 rector the Peace Corps determines that a site is un11 safe, the Director of the Peace Corps shall, as expe12 ditiously as practical, remove all volunteers from the 

13 site. 

14 ‘‘(f) SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAMS.—The Di15 rector of the Peace Corps shall establish sexual assault 

16 response teams, including Safety and Security Officers, 

17 medical staff, and a victim advocate, that can respond to 

18 reports of sexual assault against a volunteer. 

19 ‘‘(g) CASE REVIEW.—The Director of the Peace 

20 Corps shall conduct case reviews of a statistically signifi21 cant number of cases on a quarterly basis to determine 

22 if proper procedures were followed in accordance with the 

23 sexual assault protocols and guidelines developed under 

24 subsection (a) and including the elements specified in sub25 section (c). 


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1 ‘‘(h) TRACKING AND RECORDING.—The Director of 

2 the Peace Corps shall establish a global tracking and re3 cording system to track and record incidents of assault 

4 against volunteers. 

5 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON COMBINING INCIDENTS.—The 

6 Director of the Peace Corps may not combine into one 

7 incident for purposes of tracking and recording under sub8 section (h) reports by different volunteers of assault 

9 against such volunteers even if such assaults were com10 mitted by one individual against such volunteers at any 

11 one time. 

12 ‘‘(j) ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS.—The Director of the 

13 Peace Corps shall establish an alternative reporting sys14 tem and hotline access system through which volunteers 

15 who are victims of assault can report and receive support 

16 on an anonymous basis. The alternative systems shall be 

17 published in the Volunteer Handbook. 

18 ‘‘VICTIMS ADVOCATES

19 ‘‘SEC. 8C. (a) VICTIMS ADVOCATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace 

21 Corps shall assign a certified victims advocate in 

22 Peace Corps headquarters who shall report directly 

23 to the Director. The Director of the Peace Corps 

24 shall assign not fewer than three additional certified 

25 victims advocates to assist the victims advocate. The 

26 additional victims advocates shall have regional exVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:03 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1280.IS S1280

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1 pertise and may be posted abroad if the victims ad2 vocate determines that it is necessary. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Peace Corps Medical Offi4 cers, Safety and Security Officers, and program 

5 staff may not serve as victims advocates. The vic6 tims advocate and additional victims advocates may 

7 not have any other duties in the Peace Corps. 

8 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION.—The victims advocate and 

9 additional victims advocates shall be exempt from 

10 the five year rule on appointments and assignments 

11 under section 7(a)(5). 

12 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The victims advocate and 

13 additional victims advocates shall help develop and imple14 ment the sexual assault risk-reduction and response train15 ing described in section 8A and the sexual assault protocol 

16 and guidelines described in section 8B and ensure such 

17 training and such protocol and guidelines are being prop18 erly updated and followed. The victims advocate and addi19 tional victims advocates shall assist volunteers who are vic20 tims of assault by making such victims aware of the serv21 ices specified in section 8B(c) available to them and facili22 tating their access to such services. 

23 ‘‘(c) STATUS UPDATES.—The victims advocate and 

24 additional victims advocates shall provide to volunteers 

25 who are victims of assault regular updates on the status 


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1 of their cases if such volunteers have opted to pursue pros2 ecution. 

3 ‘‘(d) TRANSITION.—A victims advocate who is work4 ing with a volunteer who is a victim of assault and who 

5 relocates back to the United States shall assist the volun6 teer to receive the services specified in section 8B(c) re7 quired by such volunteer, including through the duration 

8 of the claim with the Department of Labor, even after the 

9 volunteer is medically separated. 

10 ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT ADVISORY

11 COUNCIL

12 ‘‘SEC. 8D. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab13 lished in the Peace Corps a Sexual Assault Advisory Coun14 cil (in this section referred to as the ‘Council’). 

15 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed 

16 of individuals selected by the Director of the Peace Corps 

17 who are returned volunteers (including volunteers who 

18 were victims of sexual assault and volunteers who were 

19 not victims of sexual assault) and governmental and non20 governmental experts and professionals in the sexual as21 sault field. 

22 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS; MEETINGS.—The Council shall 

23 meet not less often than annually to review the sexual as24 sault risk-reduction and response training developed under 

25 section 8A, sexual assault policy developed under section 

26 8B, and the confidentiality policy developed under section 


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1 8F to ensure that such training and policies conform to 

2 best practices in the sexual assault field. 

3 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Council shall annually submit 

4 to the Director of the Peace Corps and the Committee 

5 on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

7 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations 

8 of the Senate a report on its findings based on the reviews 

9 conducted pursuant to subsection (c). 

10 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Coun11 cil shall not be considered Federal employees for any pur12 pose and shall not receive compensation other than reim13 bursement of travel expenses and per diem allowance. 

14 ‘‘(f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

15 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

16 to the Council. 

17 ‘‘VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK AND PEACE CORPS REVIEW

18 ‘‘SEC. 8E. (a) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—Not 

19 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

20 section, the Director of the Peace Corps shall establish 

21 goals, metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans for 

22 all Peace Corps programs and Country Directors. Moni23 toring and evaluation plans shall incorporate best prac24 tices from monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses. 

25 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL VOLUNTEER SURVEYS.—The Director 

26 of the Peace Corps shall annually conduct a confidential 


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1 survey of volunteers regarding the effectiveness of Peace 

2 Corps programs and staff and the safety of volunteers. 

3 ‘‘(c) PEACE CORPS INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The In4 spector General of the Peace Corps shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Ap6 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 

8 Appropriations of the Senate the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) A biennial report on reports received from 

10 volunteers relating to misconduct, mismanagement, 

11 or policy violations of Peace Corps staff, any 

12 breaches of the confidentiality of volunteers, and any 

13 actions taken to assure the safety of volunteers who 

14 provide such reports. 

15 ‘‘(2) A report, not later than two years after 

16 the date of the enactment of this section and every 

17 five years thereafter, evaluating the effectiveness and 

18 implementation of the assault risk-reduction and re19 sponse training developed under section 8A and the 

20 sexual assault protocol and guidelines developed 

21 under section 8B. 

22 ‘‘(3) A trend analysis every three years of the 

23 annual volunteer surveys, including actions taken in 

24 response to such surveys. 


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1 ‘‘(4) A report, not later than two years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this section, describing 

3 how Country Directors are hired, how Country Di4 rectors are terminated, and how Country Directors 

5 hire staff. 

6 ‘‘(d) EVALUATION DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

7 section, the term ‘evaluation’ means the systematic collec8 tion and analysis of information about the characteristics 

9 and outcomes of programs and projects as a basis for 

10 judgments, to improve effectiveness, or inform decisions 

11 about current and future programming. 

12 ‘‘NONDISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVATE

13 INFORMATION

14 ‘‘SEC. 8F. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

15 Peace Corps shall establish and maintain a process to 

16 allow volunteers to report incidents of assault, incidents 

17 of misconduct or mismanagement, or violations of any pol18 icy, of the Peace Corps in order to protect the confiden19 tiality in accordance with subsection (c) and safety of such 

20 volunteers and of the information reported, and to ensure 

21 that such information is acted on appropriately. The Di22 rector of the Peace Corps shall train all volunteers and 

23 staff about this process. 

24 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—The Director of the Peace Corps 

25 shall provide guidance to officers and employees of the 

26 Peace Corps who have access to the information reported 


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1 by volunteers under subsection (a) in order to protect 

2 against the inappropriate disclosure of such information 

3 and ensure the safety of such volunteers. 

4 ‘‘(c) NONDISCLOSURE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graphs (2) and (3), the Director of the Peace Corps 

7 may not— 

8 ‘‘(A) disclose any personally identifying in9 formation or personal information of a volun10 teer who is a victim of assault collected in con11 nection with services requested, utilized, or de12 nied through Peace Corps programs; or 

13 ‘‘(B) reveal such information without the 

14 informed, purpose-limited, and reasonably time15 limited consent of the volunteer about whom 

16 such information is sought. 

17 ‘‘(2) RELEASE.—If the release of information 

18 described in paragraph (1) is authorized by statute 

19 or compelled by court order, the Director of the 

20 Peace Corps shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) make reasonable attempts to provide 

22 notice to the volunteer with respect to whom 

23 such information is being released; and 

24 ‘‘(B) take such action as is necessary to 

25 protect the privacy and safety of the volunteer. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Director of 

2 the Peace Corps may share— 

3 ‘‘(A) nonpersonally identifying data in the 

4 aggregate regarding services to volunteers and 

5 nonpersonally identifying demographic informa6 tion in order to comply with reporting, evalua7 tion, or data collection requirements; 

8 ‘‘(B) nonpersonally identifying information 

9 that would protect the safety of volunteers; 

10 ‘‘(C) court-generated information and law11 enforcement generated information contained in 

12 secure, governmental registries for protection 

13 order enforcement purposes; and 

14 ‘‘(D) law enforcement- and prosecution15 generated information necessary for law en16 forcement and prosecution purposes. 

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the terms ‘per18 sonally identifying information’ and ‘personal information’ 

19 mean information for or about a volunteer who is a victim 

20 of assault, including information likely to disclose the loca21 tion of such victim, including the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) A first and last name. 

23 ‘‘(2) A home or other physical address. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Contact information (including a postal, 

2 email, or Internet protocol address, or telephone or 

3 facsimile number). 

4 ‘‘(4) A social security number. 

5 ‘‘(5) Any other information, including date of 

6 birth, racial or ethnic background, or religious affili7 ation, that, in combination with information de8 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4), would serve 

9 to identify the victim. 

10 ‘‘REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

11 ‘‘SEC. 8G. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

12 Peace Corps shall annually submit to the Committee on 

13 Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on For15 eign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 

16 the Senate a report summarizing information on— 

17 ‘‘(1) sexual assault against volunteers; 

18 ‘‘(2) assault against volunteers; and 

19 ‘‘(3) the annual rate of early termination of volun20 teers, including, to the maximum extent practicable, demo21 graphic data associated with such early termination. 

22 ‘‘(b) GAO.—Not later than one year after the date 

23 of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

25 Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of 

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1 eign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the Senate a report evaluating the quality and accessibility 

3 of health care provided through the Department of Labor 

4 to returned volunteers upon their separation from the 

5 Peace Corps. 

6 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO COMMUNICATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace 

8 Corps, in coordination with all Country Directors, 

9 shall determine the level of access to communication, 

10 including cellular and Internet access, of each volun11 teer. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than six months after 

13 the date of the enactment of this section, the Direc14 tor of the Peace Corps shall submit to the Com15 mittee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Ap16 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 

18 on Appropriations of the Senate a report on the 

19 costs of providing all volunteers with access to ade20 quate communication, including cellular service and 

21 Internet access. 

22 ‘‘(d) REPORT ON MONITORING AND EVALUATION.— 

23 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

24 of this section and annually thereafter, the Director of the 

25 Peace Corps shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 


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1 Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

3 Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 Senate a report on the monitoring and evaluation of Peace 

5 Corps programs and Country Directors, including infor6 mation on the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) A description of the monitoring and eval8 uation activities conducted in the preceding year. 

9 ‘‘(2) A forecast of the monitoring and evalua10 tion activities planned for the subsequent year. 

11 ‘‘(3) A description of the ways in which the re12 sults of the monitoring and evaluation activities have 

13 informed the design and operation of development 

14 policies and programs during the preceding year.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

16 (a) INCLUSION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT RISK-REDUC17 TION AND RESPONSE TRAINING.—The Peace Corps Act 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) in section 5(a) (22 U.S.C. 2504(a)), in the 

20 second sentence, by inserting ‘‘(including training 

21 under section 8A)’’ after ‘‘training’’; and 

22 (2) in section 8(a) (22 U.S.C. 2507(a)), in the 

23 first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, including training 

24 under section 8A,’’ after ‘‘training’’. 


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1 (b) CERTAIN SERVICES.—Section 5(e) of the Peace 

2 Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(e)) is amended, in the first 

3 sentence— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(including, if necessary, for 

5 volunteers and trainees, services under section 8C)’’ 

6 after ‘‘health care’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘including services provided in 

8 accordance with section 8C (except that the six9 month limitation shall not apply in the case of such 

10 services),’’ before ‘‘as the President’’. 

Æ 


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