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U.S. forces also crack down on prostitution
By Andrew Petty
Ocotber 18, 2004
No more slaps on the wrist for soldiers venturing up Itaewon's "Hill" and to
other areas known as places to buy sex. Starting next year, USFK servicemen
convicted of doing so may face stiff penalties of time in jail and a
dishonorable discharge.
The announcement was made last month from Washington that pending changes to an
article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will wipe out the grey areas
defining penalties for buying sex and allow military courts to kick people out
of the military for doing so.
"It will make soldiers think twice before they think they can get away with an
offence," said Lt. Col. Tom Budzyna, an 8th Army spokesman. Human trafficking
has become a global issue after human rights groups have advocated to the
United Nations and the U.S. government that they take action, he said.
"We refuse to turn a blind eye and intend on making a difference," Budzyna
said.
USFK television and radio air waves are now cluttered with announcements
warning about the military's tougher stance.
Officials are now discussing how they will implement this new approach to show
"no tolerance" to offenders of the law. They have no plans at the moment to
increase security but will continue to patrol establishments that are off
limits and share information with Korean authorities, officials said.
Hundreds of bars, clubs and restaurants employing women in the sex trade are
set up in the Itaewon district in Seoul and near other U.S. military bases
across the peninsula, especially Dongduchon and Pyongtaek.
Earlier this fall, however, the Korean government enacted new laws against
prostitution and stepped up its enforcement of laws against the sex trade,
which was previously allowed in designated areas. Police raided several red
light districts, generating complaints from sex workers, and even a protest by
them in front of the National Assembly.
Any cooperation from the Korean government is a "win-win" situation, since the
USFK is limited in its patrolling by the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement,
said Budzyna.
USFK officials said they had no figures available on how many service members
have been prosecuted for buying sex, but last year the U.S. military found 400
offenders here guilty of related offences, such as breaking curfew and visiting
off-limits areas. Penalties included reprimands and extra duty.
One soldier stationed here praised the U.S. military's tougher stance. "Chad,"
who wanted to remain anonymous, said the prostitutes are a nuisance in Itaewon,
where they grab GIs by the elbow and try to pull them into establishments.
"I've had some friends who were drunk, and when they got pulled in there, the
girls took advantage of them," he said.
However another soldier stationed here said that even though he is married and
would never visit brothels himself, he's against the military's changes, which
he feels impose penalties that are too harsh for something a service member
does on his own time.
"It's none of their business what soldiers do off base. If a soldier wants to
have sex with a prostitute and ruin his life that's his problem, not the
military's," he asserted.
Letters to the editor carried in Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military
newspaper, reflected more views of the proposed changes. One writer said the
military was wasting its time to go through so much procedure to punish someone
who couldn't control his hormones. Another wondered how the authorities would
prove the accused was guilty of having sex with a prostitute.
The proposed UCMJ changes would apply to all members of the U.S. military
stationed at home and abroad, including areas like Thailand where prostitution
is legal.
Josh Stanton, a former military lawyer now living in the United States,
believes that even though courts will have the option to give an offender a
dishonorable discharge, the likelihood of getting that penalty will be small.
A military court would need a two-thirds vote or in some cases four out of five
on the panel to vote for the court martial, Stanton said. He believes the court
would give much consideration to the context of where the offence was
committed.
An Internet author who maintains a Web site called "American Forces in Korea"
stated that he thought the changes had not been clearly thought through and
could result in harmful publicity for troops stationed in Korea.
"Each crackdown on GI prostitution (cases) done by the US military and/or
Korean authorities will leak out to the press - one way or another - and the
Koreans will be reinforced in their negative view of the GIs and never think
about Korean men and prostitution," he said.
In Korea, sentiment against the U.S. military has swelled in recent years after
a number of fights, stabbings and drunk-driving cases were highlighted by the
media.
Stanton said that often when young single soldiers stationed here feel lonely
and unwelcome at many of Korea's better social venues, they turn to prostitutes
for attention, although the majority did not intend on patronizing the sex
trade before they arrived.
"People join the military for travel, adventure, college money, job training,
and patriotism," said Stanton. "At a time when the most likely overseas
assignments are in Iraq and Afghanistan - locations that are hardly fleshpots -
I strongly doubt that young Americans are joining the military to accelerate
their sex lives."
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