Ever since armies have been at war with each other, and long before females could be seen on the battlefield in large parts of the world, women's labor has been essential to the day-to-day operations of most armies.
However, they did not only wash clothes, cook and take care of wounded soldiers. Their sexual work has long had the purpose of making the soldiers satisfied, or at least satisfied enough to continue doing their job, writes Politiko, as reported by Blic. Today, commercial sex zones are springing up in tandem with many American military bases around the world - from "Baumholder" in Germany, to "Fort Bragg" in the American state of North Carolina.
Problems related to sex trafficking are especially prominent in South Korea, where the settlements surrounding American bases deeply encroach on the state's economy, politics and culture, writes Politiko, as reported by Blic. During the US occupation of Korea in , when US soldiers paid for sex with a single cigarette, these settlements were at the center of an exploitative and deeply disturbing sex industry - one that reflects but also reinforces the military's view of men, women, power and dominance.
In recent years, research has shown how widespread prostitution is around US bases and how openly it is practiced, prompting the US government to ban the purchase of commercial sexual services by the military and South Korean authorities to introduce anti-prostitution measures.
However, it is far from being gone, it is just now more hidden, states Politiko, as reported by Blic. Toward the end of World War II, American military commanders in Korea became concerned about "interactions" between American soldiers and local women. The policy became: "away from Korean women", but this did not apply to women in brothels, dance halls and those who worked on the street. Since venereal and other sexually transmitted diseases were widespread, the US military administration formed the Venereal Disease Control Division, which regularly examined and treated "party girls.
