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Harassment Unchecked at Army Hotel

Sexual abuse and rape in military culture—and a lack of action by military authorities—are long-standing problems, brought to light with the Tailhook scandal in 1991

By Kari Lydersen

For active and retired military members and their families, the U.S. Army-owned Hale Koa Hotel in Honolulu is a place to relax in a tropical paradise at affordable rates. For hotel parking manager and veteran John “Jack” Lloyd, it appears to be a place to touch and proposition female workers, mostly Filipina—according to complaints filed with the military’s Equal Employment… return to article

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    This crap of treating Filipinas as everyone’s easy-tap, tail-for-sale bimbos is so offensive and so relentless as to boggle the mind. It happens so often, in-country and out, by the most boorish foreigners imaginable. They’d never be caught dead treating women from their own countries like that, and would freak out if anyone else did, but they come in here and act like local women are all just inflatable sex-dolls (there is a thriving sex trade here, which distorts the local economy out of all sensible shape… a bargirl can earn more than a Ph.D.). And an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) who is trying to assist her family by remitting her earnings back to the Philippines is already under the burden of being separated from the family, which is a sore emotional cost for so many of them. For many, their overseas job is the primary source of income for what could be a huge extended family, so making too much noise about harassment and risking being let go by the boss, is sometimes considered untenable, so they’ll often put up with it.

    Pretty damn sick. Makes you want to bust a guy’s lip.

    Philippines Posted by Kuya on Oct 15, 2007 at 7:27 PM

    Hi Kuya - I think that many of the guys who act the way you describe do so around *any* woman if they think they can get away with it. Generally that simply means that the women are in a defenseless position. The classic strong victimizing the weak paradigm. Ugh.

    I also think the sex trade is thriving pretty much everywhere. For a wide variety of reasons. Is it regulated in the Philippines? I think that is the best one can hope for.

    United States Posted by wolf on Oct 16, 2007 at 7:58 AM

    Hi wolf,
    The sex trade here is sort of what you’d call unofficially tolerated (and profited from by a number of those same officials) while strictly speaking it is not legal, although as with a number of law-related issues here, there’s a lot of grey area and inconsistent enforcement, enough so that a bar owner can avoid a charge of pandering even while everyone knows what’s really up. The “dancers” will go with a customer for hired sex, but it’s discussed as though she chose of her own free will.

    Which I guess is “true” in a twisted way, but again, everyone knows what’s really happening. She’d die of starvation on the dancer’s wage, and she isn’t really dancing as much as just up there on stage to be shopped.

    As for the kind of regulation that would actually protect a sex worker from abuse, its non-existent. They’re on their own.

    The shittiest aspect of that grey area is that pedophiles come here, and there’s little chance that they’ll get busted. Happens every day.

    However, I saw on the tube last night that one of those sick fucks, who had actually posted 200 pics of himself on the web abusing kids sexually but who had digitally distorted his face, had his image reverse-engineered and clarified and now the countries in the region are out to get him (they think he’s in Thailand, but other nearby states are searching too). I guess he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was.

    There are some NGOs that try to help the women and kids stuck in “the life” or who recently got out of it. That’s about all there is by way of support.

    Philippines Posted by Kuya on Oct 17, 2007 at 3:08 AM

    Which, by the way, is not to confuse the massive majority of OFWs with sex workers. They actually do an incredible variety of jobs, from domestic helpers to entertainers, teachers to casino employees, cargo ship workers to soldiers in the US military.

    I’ll wager the women in the article above sure aint sex workers!

    Philippines Posted by Kuya on Oct 17, 2007 at 3:10 AM

    Hi Kuya - Glad to say they caught the pedophile.

    Still, as sick as he is, he is in fact sick. I pity him as well as his victims (and hope he is put somewhere where he can never ever harm a child again).

    I have ambiguous feelings about the sex trade. I think everyone should have the right to do as they wish, including trading sex (or “exotic” dancing) for money. However it is also clear that economic coercion (or much worse in some cases) is behind the “choice” to become a sex worker.

    United States Posted by wolf on Oct 17, 2007 at 8:14 AM
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