The New York Times is reporting that four women are suing KBR Inc. and Halliburton (who used to own KBR) because they were sexual harrassed and in two cases raped while working for KBR in Iraq.

It is probable that this is the tip of the iceberg as far as sexual assaults committed against women working for private contractors in Iraq. Given the horrendous rates of of sexual harrassment, assault and rapes that have been and are being perpetrated against U.S. servicewomen by their fellow soldiers, by extension one can assume it is also occuring against women working for private companies operating in Iraq.

As disturbing as this is, Feminist Peace Network has also heard that KBR is operating “massage parlors” that employ women from Russia and the Philippines and that U. S. servicewomen are also prostituting themselves to earn extra money. These are stories being told by soldiers who have witnessed this occuring but they have not yet been substantiated by other sources.

However, it is important to recognize that historically military forces have always (officially or not) provided for the “rest and relaxation” of their (male) soldiers. Iraq (and Afghanistan) present an unusual scenario given that blatantly setting up brothels that employed local women would not be tolerated by the local population. And the U.S. military cannot officially set these services up, so it makes a great deal of sense that this would be done through private contractors. So while we do not yet know if these reports are true, the possibility is strong enough that this should certainly be investigated thoroughly.