PMC Sexual Violence: It’s Still a Problem

David Isenberg at Huffington Post   January 30, 2012

Also see at David’s blog The PMSC Observer

In one of those rare, “perfect storm” of coincidences, three events converge to provide the topic for this column. First, the latest issue of the in-house magazine, the arriviste named “Journal of International Peace Operations,” published by ISOA, a PMSC trade group, is devoted to the topic of “Women & International Security.”

Since ISOA, like any good trade group, generally tries to dismiss any criticism of its member companies, as being the ravings of liberal hacks in pursuit of a “spicy merc” story, it is interesting to note that the very first article in the issue states:

Companies need to adopt institutional measures to prevent and address cases of misconduct. Appropriate gender training for PMSC personnel, alongside training in international humanitarian law and human rights law – as recommended by the Montreux Document on PMSCs -will help to create a more gender-aware institution, thus preventing human rights abuses and reputation loss. Having clear rules of behaviour and mechanisms to punish individuals responsible for human rights violations will benefit the host populations, individual companies and the industry as a whole.

Second, the recent release in the UK of last year’s movie, The Whistleblower, a fictionalized version of the involvement of DynCorp contractors in sex trafficking and slavery in Bosnia back in the nineties, serves to remind us that despite DynCorp’s rhetoric over the subsequent years not nearly enough has changed.

For those whose memories have faded, employees of DynCorp were accused of buying and keeping women and girls as young as 12 years old in sexual slavery in Bosnia. Perhaps even more shocking is that none of those involved have ever been held accountable within a court of law. The United States subsequently awarded DynCorp a new contract worth nearly $250 million to provide training to the developing Iraqi police force, even though the company’s immediate reaction to reports of the crimes was to fire the whistle-blowers.

As an article in the Jan. 29, Sunday Telegraph noted:

Most disappointing of all was what happened next: several men were sent home, but none was punished further. No future employer will know what these men were guilty of. I asked DynCorp if its guidelines had become more stringent since 2001 and was sent its code of ethics. It states that ‘engaging in or supporting any trafficking in persons […] is prohibited. Any person who violates this standard or fails to report violations of this standard shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.’ So nothing has changed.

By the way, from a strictly observational viewpoint, given other problems DynCorp has had over the years since that took place, from dancing boys in Afghanistan to the recent settling of an EEOC suit regarding sexual harassment of one of its workers in Iraq, DynCorp is the Energizer Bunny of sexual harassment; it just keeps giving and giving and giving; doubtlessly reporters around the world are grateful.

Please read the entire post here

DynCorp pays $155K to settle EEOC suit alleging worker in Iraq was subjected to anti-gay slurs

Note from OCC:  The EEOC does not bring a claim on behalf of an employee, or issue a Right to Sue, unless they determine beforehand that the charges are valid and should be investigated further.  DynCorp likely saved themselves having to admit on every proposal they submitted that they had this EEOC charge against them.

AP at The Republic  January 9, 2012

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Military contractor DynCorp International Inc. has agreed to pay $155,000 to settle a civil lawsuit alleging that a mechanic in Iraq was subjected to homophobic slurs and a hostile working environment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit last year in federal court in Alexandria on behalf of DynCorp employee James Friso.

The suit alleged Friso endured frequent taunts from a co-worker during a four-month stint in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. Friso, who is married and heterosexual, complained to managers but was either ignored or threatened with transfer, according to the suit.

As part of a written settlement, Falls Church-based DynCorp makes no admission of guilt and agreed to provide training to its managers on sexual harassment policies in the workplace