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February
25, 2008
War
is hell for everyone involved. For women, this hell can be
especially deep.
Recruiters
don't tell those who enlist that 30%
of military women will be sexually assaulted while serving. Women
who work as contract employees in Iraq face similar dangers.
Jamie
Leigh Jones, a former Halliburton/KBR employee in Iraq, recently
testified at a Congressional hearing that she was drugged and
brutally gang-raped by her co-workers in 2005.
Three
years later, KBR and the military have failed to punish the
perpetrators or provide redress for Jamie Leigh.
We
met Jamie Leigh in Washington and we were moved by her
courage-under tremendous pressure-to speak out publicly and start
an organization, The
Jamie Leigh Foundation,
to help other women. Since
Jamie Leigh spoke out, 38
U.S. women, all contract employees in Iraq, have come forward to
report crimes of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.
Halliburton/KBR has failed to protect the safety of its contract
employees, and, in fact, has fostered an environment wherein
sexual violence is accepted. Moreover, the company requires
employees to sign a private arbitration agreement, forcing them to
give up their right to sue the company or have a trial by jury.
"Halliburton
is trying to force this into a secret proceeding, which will do
nothing to prevent continued abuses of this nature,"
Jamie Leigh told Congress. "The United
States government has to provide people with their day in court
when they have been raped and assaulted by other American
citizens."
Due
to Halliburton/KBR's pattern of fraudulent and abusive behavior,
including fostering a work environment conducive to violence
against its own employees, we call upon Mr. Robert Kittel,
Suspension and Debarment Official of the U.S. Army Legal Services
Agency, to debar Halliburton/KBR from future contracts in Iraq.
1.
Click
here
to read Medea Benjamin's letter to Mr. Kittel and
2.
Click
here
to send your own letter using our sample email.
3.
Please
also sign our petition in support of the Jamie Leigh Act of 2008,
which mandates that companies report criminal violations and
provide this information to new employees.
For
more information, please read the recent New York Times article,
"Limbo
for U.S. Women Reporting Iraq Assaults"
and see www.jamiesfoundation.org.
Thank
you for helping us hold abusive companies accountable and provide
justice to courageous women like Jamie Leigh.
Dana,
Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy and Rae
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 LOCAL
SPOTLIGHT:
THANK
YOU for
opening your heart and helping us shut down the war machine
last week!
CODEPINK
held
11 kiss-ins around the country on Valentine's Day with the
message Don't Enlist, Stay and Kiss... that way everybody
makes out!
In
Berkeley, CA and Gainesville, FL, peaceful kissers shut down
the recruiting stations for the day!
Click
here
to see photos and news coverage of kiss-ins in DC, NYC,
Berkeley, and Pittsburgh.
Over
1,900
of you have already signed onto our
resist military recruitment pledge,
including over 800
parents
and hundreds of students!
Last
week we also sent over 130
letters
to the editor in response to the varying coverage of the
action in Berkeley. Click
here
to read some of our favorites.
Bring
the spirit of Berkeley to your city by starting a Military
Recruiting Zoning Initiative in your city!
If
that sounds like gibberish, stay tuned for easy recipes for
zoning recruiters away from kids in your city -- to be posted
soon on our website.
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