Safety and Security

My favorite person in Armenia on our Peace Corps staff is our Safety and Security Officer. I have great confidence in what he would do to ensure my safety and in what he would do to address any situation I might get into. I have no doubt that if I needed him in the middle of the night, he would magically appear. My confidence is a little unrealistic, but it helps me sleep better. I also think that he has a very tough job. Peace Corps Volunteers have a penchant for getting into trouble.

Sexual assaults have been at the forefront of safety discussions here ever since a 60 Minutes program that suggested that the PC is lax in protecting volunteers against sexual assaults. I don’t know about other PC countries, though I suspect that many of the issues we face here are common in other countries. And many of the issues arise when volunteers do not make adjustments for cultural differences.

Armenia is a country where women marry young (22) to men five years older. The average age at first birth is 22. (All statistics from National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia.) Men have two years compulsory military service at 20, which delays their marriage age. When a girl marries she is expected to be a virgin. In Gyumri, because we have a Russian military base with 5,000 men, there are a lot of prostitutes. Many of those prostitutes are Russian. It is not unusual for an Armenian to think that a young attractive foreigner is a prostitute. While young unmarried Armenia girls often dress provocatively, in a way that would suggest to most Americans that they were “easy”, this is almost never the case. When women marry, they often change their dress and hairstyle to be less provocative at their husband’s request. In this country where there is a clear preference for males, men exert macho control over their wives and daughters.

We are supposed to be sensitive to the Armenian culture. This means that just because young Armenian girls dress like tarts, we should not, or we’ll be seen as easy. So the following are some situations we’ve had in-country over the last few years:

• More than one female volunteer has worn tight summer t-shirts (nipples showing), with her midriff exposed and then wonders why she gets unwanted attention. One of these volunteers reported an assault. (In these instances I don’t know why the PC doesn‘t tell the volunteer that her clothing is inappropriate. We are too politically correct. What is acceptable in the US is not always appropriate here.)
• Another volunteer, very pretty with blonde hair, was beaten with a broom by an old lady who was yelling “prostitute” at her.
• Another volunteer was “American” friendly with a man she worked with. He asked her out for coffee and then explained that he had “needs” that his wife was not satisfying, and he knew that she had “needs” that he could satisfy. It became very uncomfortable for her at her worksite. This is not an incident that you could “report” in Armenia.
• A volunteer was dating a young Armenian man; she told him that she was not a virgin, and he went ballistic, broadcasting the ”news” to the whole town to the point that she could not be effective at her site.
• A volunteer living with a host family was “grabbed” by the host father. The PC quickly moved her out of that house.
• There is a Facebook page for new volunteers and I noticed that someone said that you “could” wear shorts in this country. Yes, and you can also go naked. I have never seen Armenians wearing shorts in Gyumri. Also, girls do not play sports where you might see shorts.
• A volunteer went walking alone in the country, was approached by a herder, and was grabbed on the breasts. (Female volunteers are warned against hiking alone. Was this volunteer in any way responsible for what happened to her? I very seldom see young Armenian girls alone, even in this city. They are usually locked arm-in-arm with another girl.)
• A volunteer was out drinking with others, went home with an Armenian, and when she woke up in the morning “realized” that she had been assaulted.
• Another older very friendly volunteer was grabbed by a mentally disabled young man she had be-friended. The incident was reported to the police and the young man’s family, which brought great shame on the family and also made her life difficult. This is an isolated country where men often do not understand how to relate to foreign women. Their “insight” is gained through provocative Russian music videos.
• In this city a group of volunteers had a meal at a high official’s house, where we must have made 100 alcoholic toasts. Then we went to his restaurant. He sat next to a young attractive volunteer, and began fondling her. He did not speak English. One of the male volunteers told her to get up, say she was going to the bathroom, and then to walk out the door; we’d bring her things. We had just been at his house and had talked to his wife, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. I am still amazed at the liberties he took in front of all of us.
• Two young women, who were hitchhiking, were driven off the road by the driver. They did get away with a good scare. I have never seen Armenian girls hitchhiking. We have been told not to hitchhike.
• A few male volunteers have “dated” Armenian girls. After just a few dates, the fathers want to know what the man’s intention is, and then the choice is marriage or cutting off the relationship. In Armenia arranged marriages are still common. It is very common for couples to marry after knowing each other only two months. I can’t help but think that this brief courtship period is related to the importance of the girl’s virginity on her wedding night.
• We have several wonderful gay volunteers, in a country that does not admit that homosexuality exits. Many volunteers are active on our GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi- and trans-sexual) committee. Volunteers cannot be “openly” gay in Armenia.
• In Gyumri we have a public swimming pool. I’ve been there twice, debating whether to swim. The pool is open to all, but I’ve only seen men swimming. Sunday afternoon the pool is open to women only. It has become obvious to me that it would not be appropriate to swim any time other than Sunday.
• A volunteer in a nearby city asked a few co-workers to a café for coffee. They would not meet her because women “do not go to cafes alone.” Until very recently that was the case in Gyumri. We now have two restaurants where women can go alone. Female PC Volunteers often go to cafes alone, or together. This situation and the following are the only ones I can immediately think of where female volunteers ignore this culture.
• I live alone. This is highly unusual situation in Armenia and leads to lots of discussion. (No I am not lonely. No I am not afraid.) Young women do not move out of their family homes until they marry, and then they move into their in-laws home. Multiple generations of families live together. For many volunteers, especially in towns, it can be uncomfortable to host opposite sex volunteers overnight.

I think that the PC here is very good about responding to sexual incidents. Often the real problem is that incidents arise because of volunteer stupidity, carelessness, or cultural sensitivity. Our Safety and Security Officer has tried to inform all of us of things we should be aware of, and much of the information has been anecdotal. In too many instances the volunteer could have avoided the situation.