Failing Rape Victims

Staff / Truthdig Jul 1, 2008 The evidence collected from rape victims after they've been assaulted goes into something called a rape kit. It's the product of a lengthy and uncomfortable examination process that, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, far too often leads to nothing. Some 400,000 rape kits are sitting in storage, untested, right now. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Halliburton Now Facing Rape Lawsuit Trial

Staff / Truthdig May 11, 2008 For some time, it looked like former Halliburton/KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones, who claims she was gang-raped by co-workers over two years ago in Baghdad's Green Zone, would be forced by KBR into private arbitration proceedings (read: no public record, corporation often has upper hand). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rampant Sex Abuse Alleged at Polygamist Compound

Staff / Truthdig Apr 9, 2008 A grim picture is emerging from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound in West Texas, where 416 children have been removed to state custody and 139 women have left. Court documents allege widespread sexual abuse of teenage girls who were married at puberty to much older men by the polygamist sect. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Invisible War

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Jan 24, 2008 It's the deadliest conflict since World War II. More than 5 million people have died in the past decade, yet it goes virtually unnoticed and unreported in the United States. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Saudi King Pardons Rape Victim

Staff / Truthdig Dec 18, 2007 Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah marked the first day of Hajj by pardoning the so-called Qatif girl, who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison because she was traveling with a man when she was attacked and gang-raped. The Saudi justice minister said that, despite the pardon, the king was "convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rep. Poe: Halliburton/KBR Gang Rape Not ‘Isolated Case’

Staff / Truthdig Dec 14, 2007 Texas Rep. Ted Poe, pushing for a probe into the case of former Halliburton/KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones, who says she was gang-raped by co-workers in Iraq and then intimidated into keeping silent, urged other possible victims of crimes against U.S. contract employees working abroad to come forward, saying he believes Jones' case is not unique. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Gang-Rape Victim Accuses Halliburton/KBR of Cover-Up

Staff / Truthdig Dec 11, 2007 Over two years ago, Jamie Leigh Jones was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad's Green Zone when she was gang-raped, allegedly by several co-workers. According to Jones, instead of attending to her injuries and bringing her assailants to justice, KBR officials held her for 24 hours in a shipping container without food or water and then told her she would lose her job if she left Iraq. Now, it's unclear whether the case will go to trial, and her attackers may escape punishment due to a legal loophole regarding U.S. contractors working abroad. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Saudis Defend Decision to Lash Rape Victims

Staff / Truthdig Nov 22, 2007 The Saudi Arabian justice ministry has defended the high court's decision to lash and imprison a 19-year-old girl and her male friend, both of whom were gang-raped last year. The two are being punished for "illegal mingling" of the sexes and, unofficially, taking their story to the media. The leading Democratic candidates have all signaled their outrage, but the Bush administration has adopted a mind-your-own-business approach. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Saudi Court Punishes Rape Victim

Staff / Truthdig Nov 16, 2007 A Saudi woman has been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail by an appeals court because she was riding in a car with a man when she was attacked and gang-raped by seven men. It is forbidden in Saudi Arabia for unmarried men and women to be together. She was 19 at the time of the attack. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Prairie Justice

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Sep 20, 2007 Warren Jeffs, a polygamist prophet, is on trial for aiding in the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl he married off to her cousin. It's a sad story featuring an abhorrent man, but something about the case just doesn't feel right to Ellen Goodman. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Female Troops Speak Out About Sexual Assault

Staff / Truthdig Sep 7, 2007 In addition to the inherent hardships and risks that come with serving in the military, many female soldiers are dealing with the potential trauma of sexual assault and rape, according to a PBS investigation for its "NOW" TV series. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Real-Life Violence

Staff / Truthdig Sep 3, 2007 Director Brian DePalma says "Pictures are what will stop the war," and he's out to prove it. His new film "Redacted," which focuses on the brutal rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family, uses graphic images from the war that he says media outlets have been too timid to show. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )