Halliburton/KBR Cover Up Alleged Gang Rape

A Texas woman filed a federal lawsuit in May against Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR, stating that she was drugged and gang-raped by a group of her co-workers in the KBR camp in the Green Zone in Iraq in 2005. The woman, Jamie Leigh Jones, says after the attack she was held without food or water for 24 hours in a shipping container with armed guards at the door who would not allow her to leave, reports ABC News.

Jones convinced one of the guards to let her use a cell phone and called her father in Texas. Her father called their Congressman, Rep. Ted Poe R-TX, who called the State Department. The State Department dispatched US Embassy agents to the KBR camp, who rescued Jones, reports CBS News. Jones was examined, but the rape kit vanished after it was handed over to KBR security officers, Jones told ABC News.

According to ABC News, legal experts say Jones' alleged attackers might never even have to stand trial: A loophole in US law effectively leaves contractors working in Iraq out of jurisdiction for US courts. No charges in this case have been filed in criminal courts.

Jones’ nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping victims who were raped or sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations will receive any proceeds from the civil lawsuit. "I want other women to know that it's not their fault," Jones told ABC News. "They can go against corporations that have treated them this way."

Media Resources: ABC News 12/10/07; CBS News 12/12/07; Telegraph News 12/12/07

© Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine

If you liked this story, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support Ms. magazine.