Sunday, June 11, 2017

Should American Military Employ "Comfort Women"?

"Make love not war" was a popular slogan in the late sixties.   Soldiers in many wars  have found that "making love" is a way to forget the realities of war.

Sex and war have been connected since the first time men from one village attacked another village to kidnap women.    Invading armies often have a problem with soldiers sexually assaulting local  women. 
American military forces have an ongoing problem with male personnel sexually assaulting female personnel.   

Although genes don't control human behavior the way genes control the behavior of other animals,  genes do influence human behavior.    It may be significant that in species in which  males may fight each other to the death, the fighting is over acquisition of females.

During World  War II Japan decided to try to  prevent the rape problem by hiring women  to serve as "comfort women" who would provide sexual services for Japanese soldiers.   The size of the Japanese military hampered the effort to have an all volunteer unit.  Japan dealt with this situation by conscripting  women in the countries Japan conquered.  The controversy over the practice continues to  hamper relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Although I would not advocate the use of "comfort women", I recognize "comfort women"  could provide an option for reducing rapes by male personnel.

Women providing sexual services would probably have a military job title like "personal therapist".  The men they provide services to would be officially listed as "patients" and the "treatment" they receive would have the same privacy protection as other medical treatment.  Patients would have to pass some basic physical exam to make sure they don't have contagious diseases or medical conditions that sexual activity might affect.   Therapists  would inform patients that a doctor or nurse might monitor their treatment by video.  Any monitoring  would be for quality control as well as to protect the therapists.   There are rare cases in which even young seemingly healthy athletes have heart attacks during strenuous activity because of undetected heart conditions.

Therapists  would receive  training as counselors and be expected  to watch for problems like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so men could  receive treatment as early as possible.
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Outside  the building where the services are provided therapists would wear the same uniforms as other female personnel during the time when they are expected to be in uniform.     To guarantee personal privacy their living quarters would be separate from where the work area even if the living quarters are in the same building.    Therapists would receive hazardous duty pay because of the disease risk.   They would have a clothing allowance for their "work clothes".

I realize that some people will question  having the military encourage what they consider an immoral practice.   I would ask these people if they  consider war a more moral activity than making love.   What many ignore is that prostitution is a business relationship rather than a personal relationship.   Although some prostitutes enjoy their work,  they don't become involved with their clients.  The "personal therapists" I'm proposing would be providing a therapeutic service to those who are asked to risk their lives for their fellow Americans.  How can that be immoral?  

 Part of the rape problem is the failure of   American culture to teach men that they should learn to control their sexual nature.  Instead American culture encourages men to expect women to serve their sexual desires.   Unfortunately it isn't practical for the military to change men's sexual attitudes.   The most practical alternative is to employ women whose profession involves serving men's sexual needs.

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