Come Work For Halliburton Today!

[Beowulf]

So you too can be drugged and gang-raped! (http://rawstory.com/news/2007/ABC_Halliburton_rape_victim_speaks_out_1214.html)

The former Halliburton/KBR employee accusing the company of attempting to cover up her gang-rape in Iraq is now speaking out about her ordeal -- saying she felt "imprisoned" after reporting the incident, and was told by her superiors to keep quiet or lose her job.

Appearing in an interview with ABC's Brian Ross, Jamie Leigh Jones spoke about what she describes as horrifying circumstances surrounding her rape and it's aftermath as handled by officials at KBR, a then-subsidiary of private security contractor Halliburton.

"I was worried about being in a war zone. I was worried about insurgency," said Jones, who didn't anticipate danger from her own coworkers.

But on her fourth night in a Green Zone barracks in Baghdad, Jones says she accepted a "special drink" from male KBR employees.

"Then I don't remember anything at all after that," she said. "I woke up naked, I was bruised. And then when I sat on the toilet, that's when I realized my inner thighs were very bruised and I was bleeding pretty bad. And then I knew I had been raped."

After a US Army medic confirmed that she had been raped by multiple men, Jones says she was placed under armed guard in a metal shipping container -- outfitted with a bed and a sink -- and told to keep quiet about the rape or lose her job.

"I felt imprisoned," she told Ross. "I wasn't able to call my parents until one of the KBR guards felt sorry for me and let me call."

Ross reports that no investigation is currently underway in the case. The Crime Victims Office at the Department of Justice indicates it has closed it's probe of the rape, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the private contractors in Iraq.

"It's a boys will be boys culture," said Jones' attorney, Todd Kelly. "The men who are there believe they live without laws, they live without restrictions."

Jamie Leigh Jones talks to ABC about being raped while working for Halliburton in Baghdad.


I'm glad my taxdollars help fuel this company.

[Archomnislash]

...
Wow, horrible.
How can the US government not have jurisdiction over their own countries corporations? Aren't they being paid by government contracts?
And if a boy's culture allows rape, I can see why some women are so jaded about men.

[Shishio]

How can the US government not have jurisdiction over their own countries corporations?

Because money is what makes the world go round.

[Shuft]

Binding arbitration agreements are the devil. Always read what you sign, and never sign one unless you have to.

[Roxie]

Of course most don't think those sort of things would apply to such a case

Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR
KBR Told Victim She Could Lose Her Job If She Sought Help After Being Raped, She Says
By BRIAN ROSS, MADDY SAUER & JUSTIN ROOD

Dec. 10, 2007—

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.

"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave. Jones described the container as sparely furnished with a bed, table and lamp.

"It felt like prison," says Jones, who told her story to ABC News as part of an upcoming "20/20" investigation. "I was upset; I was curled up in a ball on the bed; I just could not believe what had happened."

Finally, Jones says, she convinced a sympathetic guard to loan her a cell phone so she could call her father in Texas.

"I said, 'Dad, I've been raped. I don't know what to do. I'm in this container, and I'm not able to leave,'" she said. Her father called their congressman, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas.

"We contacted the State Department first," Poe told ABCNews.com, "and told them of the urgency of rescuing an American citizen" -- from her American employer.

Poe says his office contacted the State Department, which quickly dispatched agents from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Jones' camp, where they rescued her from the container.

According to her lawsuit, Jones was raped by "several attackers who first drugged her, then repeatedly raped and injured her, both physically and emotionally."

Jones told ABCNews.com that an examination by Army doctors showed she had been raped "both vaginally and anally," but that the rape kit disappeared after it was handed over to KBR security officers.

A spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security told ABCNews.com he could not comment on the matter.

Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter. In fact, ABC News could not confirm any federal agency was investigating the case.

Legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law.

"It's very troubling," said Dean John Hutson of the Franklin Pierce Law Center. "The way the law presently stands, I would say that they don't have, at least in the criminal system, the opportunity for justice."

Congressman Poe says neither the departments of State nor Justice will give him answers on the status of the Jones investigation.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Asked what reasons the departments gave for the apparent slowness of the probes, Poe sounded frustrated.

"There are several, I think, their excuses, why the perpetrators haven't been prosecuted," Poe told ABC News. "But I think it is the responsibility of our government, the Justice Department and the State Department, when crimes occur against American citizens overseas in Iraq, contractors that are paid by the American public, that we pursue the criminal cases as best as we possibly can and that people are prosecuted."

Since no criminal charges have been filed, the only other option, according to Hutson, is the civil system, which is the approach that Jones is trying now. But Jones' former employer doesn't want this case to see the inside of a civil courtroom.

KBR has moved for Jones' claim to be heard in private arbitration, instead of a public courtroom. It says her employment contract requires it.

In arbitration, there is no public record nor transcript of the proceedings, meaning that Jones' claims would not be heard before a judge and jury. Rather, a private arbitrator would decide Jones' case. In recent testimony before Congress, employment lawyer Cathy Ventrell-Monsees said that Halliburton won more than 80 percent of arbitration proceedings brought against it.

In his interview with ABC News, Rep. Poe said he sided with Jones.

"Air things out in a public forum of a courtroom," said Rep. Poe. "That's why we have courts in the United States."

In her lawsuit, Jones' lawyer, Todd Kelly, says KBR and Halliburton created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at the company barracks which put her and other female employees at great risk.

"I think that men who are there believe that they live without laws," said Kelly. "The last thing she should have expected was for her own people to turn on her."

Halliburton, which has since divested itself of KBR, says it "is improperly named" in the suit.

In a statement, KBR said it was "instructed to cease" its own investigation by U.S. government authorities "because they were assuming sole responsibility for the criminal investigations."

"The safety and security of all employees remains KBR's top priority," it said in a statement. "Our commitment in this regard is unwavering."

Since the attacks, Jones has started a nonprofit foundation called the Jamie Leigh Foundation (http://www.jamiesfoundation.org/), which is dedicated to helping victims who were raped or sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations.

"I want other women to know that it's not their fault," said Jones. "They can go against corporations that have treated them this way." Jones said that any proceeds from the civil suit will go to her foundation.

"There needs to be a voice out there that really pushed for change," she said. "I'd like to be that voice."

[Fermented Yeast Paste]

Wait...

She had to go pee to realize she was bruised up and bleeding?

Sounds like they didn't rape her hard enough.:bored:

Hahahaha, I could reach into the furthest depths of my ass and pull out a better troll than this.

[Archomnislash]

Well, I tried looking for the contract between the government and Halliburton, but to no avail... (as far as I know it hasn't been released)

2 things:

1) What is a binding arbitration agreement? (Just by looking at the words, I assume that it's a mandatory agreement with vague guidelines. Am I wrong?)

2) Who drafted the agreement? We probably will never know, but if it was the government, then they just owned themselves. If it was Halliburton themselves, then then the government got scammed (unless they were in on it)

Either way, the US is royally fucked. >.> Glad to know my money is being spent this way too.

[Shuft]

Binding arbitration agreements are where you agree to use a third-party arbitrator to settle disputes instead of the courts. The supreme court will rule them unconstitutional soon enough. They are currently being abused in lots of contracts. If you buy a car from a used car salesman and there is an arbitration clause in the contract you are basically saying that instead of suing him, you'll go to a company of his choosing to settle the dispute (arbitration companies almost always side with the big business because that is how they are able to make money).

In this case, even if criminal charges couldn't be brought because of where the rape occurred, she should be able to sue both her employers and the rapists and get a shit ton of money. That is assuming the judge correctly agrees that arbitration is bunk.

[Archomnislash]

I see. Thanks for the explanation!

[PopCulturePooka]

Right sorry for the delay. Thread cleaned.

[Beowulf]

Right sorry for the delay. Thread cleaned.
You are the wind beneath my wings.


In this case, even if criminal charges couldn't be brought because of where the rape occurred, she should be able to sue both her employers and the rapists and get a shit ton of money. That is assuming the judge correctly agrees that arbitration is bunk.
I'm thinking that the bigger issue is bringing the perpetrators to justice. I'm not sure how comfortable I with having a bunch of rapists running around with no repercussions.

[Shuft]

I'm thinking that the bigger issue is bringing the perpetrators to justice. I'm not sure how comfortable I with having a bunch of rapists running around with no repercussions.
(warning: I am too lazy to actually read about the case at all so this is all just speculation and hypotheticals)

It's very possible there is a legit reason they shouldn't be brought to justice through the US court system.

Here's how I see it (this is all wrt criminal charges, not civil).

If an Iraqi rapes another Iraqi in Iraq, then that should be covered under Iraqi law. If an Iraqi rapes an American in Iraq (and it isn't an act of war) it should be covered under Iraqi law. If an American rapes an American in Iraq, it should be covered under Iraqi law. If it occurs somewhere in Iraq that is kinda sorta the US (like an embassy or military base) then it should be covered under US law. If a company based in the US is complicit in the rape, then they should be somehow accountable (like how the Catholic Diocese in the US).

Of course, I don't make the laws, I'm not familiar with international jurisdiction at all, and I'm sure it is even more muddied by the fact that Iraq is currently our bitch and doesn't have all that effective a government at the moment.


PS
OMG awesome idea. Law and Order: Bagdad

[Roxie]

I highly suggest you read the article.

[erbiumfiber]

I think that's about right. I don't see where the U.S. courts have jurisdiction over the criminal case unless it occurred on a base or in an embassy. Iraq is a sovereign nation. Think of all the U.S. solidiers raping Japanese girls in Okinawa. When it's not on the base, it's covered under Japanese law, not U.S.

The employees were acting outside the scope of their capacity as employees so the company has a reasonable position that it's not civilly liable. The company isn't responsible for what its employees do on their own time. The best case she has is that they created a "hostile work environment" but that would go to her damages for lost wages, etc. not the damage for the rape.

Of course, the perpetrators are liable in a civil action but, again, seeing as how it happened in Iraq, I don't know about jurisdiction of U.S. courts. Plus these guys probably don't have any substantial assets to satisfy any judgment against them.

The situation totally sucks. I'm sure the guys had this basically all figured out- they knew they could get away with it and they did. I have heard it's pretty lawless over there.

[MNJetter]

The best case she has is that they created a "hostile work environment"
How about kidnapping and blackmail on top of that? She was basically imprisoned after her rape by the company, and they threatened to fire her if she didn't keep quiet about it.

[erbiumfiber]

It's arguable about kidnapping (and, if the issue is some criminal violation, same problem that it's in Iraq).

And threatening to fire her for reporting the rape goes to damages relating to her employment, which is going to be arbitrated, so she'll lose. Even if she manages to get to court and wins, the issue is mainly about lost wages, not the psychological and physical damage due to the rape. Maybe some punitive damages thrown in, but not relating to the rape.

So, as I see it, she's still screwed and the guys have still gotten away with it. Maybe she sees a little money from her employer, that's about it.

[Roxie]

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is taking steps to bring the rapists to justice. Below is her letter. Please spread the word far and wide, tell your friends and family, copy the letter into emails, post it on your blog, and call your Congressperson. This is an absolute disgrace.

Dear Friends,

I need your help.

Two years ago, 20 year old Jamie Leigh Jones was drugged, assaulted, and viciously gang raped on the job by her fellow coworkers. Learning of the attack, her employers placed her under armed guard in a shipping container for 24 hours without access to food or water.

Two years later, these horrific acts of unspeakable violence, as well as, the unbelievable reaction by her employers have gone unpunished and justice has not been served.

Why? How this could this happen? Because the 20 year old victim was a government contractor at KBR in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones, an American citizen, while employed by KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton was brutally gang raped by fellow KBR employees two years ago while stationed in Iraq. Army doctors performed a medical examination which showed that she had been raped both anally and vaginally. However, the rape kit was turned over to KBR and portions of the rape kit have vanished. Jamie was then ordered by her KBR employers to remain in a shipping container under armed guard for 24 hours without access to food or water until she was rescued after her Member of Congress demanded action by the State Department.

After two years, not only has the Justice Department not brought any criminal charges, but ABC News recently reported that they could not confirm that any federal agency was investigating the case at all.

There are over 20,000 Americans employed by US government contractors in Iraq. These individuals have the same right to treatment, services, and proper investigations when they are the victims of violent crime as those of us here at home. Their offenders, who are paid with American taxpayer dollar, should be held accountable.

Since Jamie has gone public with her story, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident; many women working for US Government contractors face sexual assault and harassment. Yet, the perpetrators of these violent crimes are not held accountable and justice is not served.

The current state of affairs is absolutely unacceptable. Action is required.

This is where I need your help.

I, along with Congressman Ted Poe and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, am taking the first step to ensuring accountability by sending letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers in the KBR rape cases and asking them to clearly define the steps they are taking to ensure that what happened to Jamie will ever happen again.

I need your help to get your Member of Congress to sign on to these letters. It’s been two years and it is obvious that the Departments of Defense and State are not taking this issue seriously. We need to show them that the House of Representatives demands action.

Please call your Member of Congress (http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml)as soon as possible and ask them to contact me, Louise M. Slaughter, to sign on to the letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers about the KBR rape cases and how they plan to prevent these occurrences in the future.

With your help, we can take the first step to preventing what happened to Jamie from ever happening again.

In solidarity,

Louise M. Slaughter

Member of Congress

[japanat]

If they really want to prevent it from happening again, then they need to forget about jurisdiction. This company, and others, are performing government contracts in the Green Zone, right? Amend all contracts immediately. They are not guaranteeing civil safety and can have the law laid down.

Sure, they could dispute the change to all current contracts, and would definitely win any challenge in the courts. But they would also know that doing so would ensure that they would be awarded no future contracts, and just can't risk losing that big ol' piece of pie. I think they would miraculously 'find' that missing evidence in a real hurry. The contractors on the ground aren't the big-wigs. They'd cough them up in a second.

And US courts have shown no hesitation in prosecuting cases which seemingly have no US jurisdiction. At least in this case, it could be argued that the crime happened in the Green Zone, an area whose safety was (still is) guaranteed by US and coalition forces, not the Iraqis. Then, if the Iraqis get pissed off about the US stepping into their turf, hand the case back over to them for prosecution.