A Danish women's organization rejects equality in compulsory military service and warns against forcing girls to participate in wars and the fear of harassment against them.

The Danish Women's Society (Dansk Kvindesamfund) criticized the new draft law on compulsory military service, arguing that equalizing women with men in compulsory military service could expose women and children to additional risks, especially if it becomes possible to forcibly send conscripts to conflict zones, according to a lengthy article on the DR website.

Objection to the new draft conscription law

The Berlingske newspaper also reported that the women's organization expressed its objection in an official advisory response to a draft law on compulsory military service, describing what was stated in the draft as "extremely worrying" because it opens the door to imposing compulsory military service and the possibility of forcibly sending conscripts to foreign military missions.

Physical and psychological differences between women and men.

Louise Vinther Alis, head of the Dansk Kvindesamfund organization, confirmed that the bill does not take into account the physical and psychological differences between women and men.

Louise Vinther Alis said during an interview with P1 Morgen that treating women the same way men were treated in the past does not mean achieving true equality.

She added that ignoring the physical and psychological differences between the sexes represents “a false conclusion that women are just little men.”.

The organization speaks of discrimination, abuses, and harassment within the army.

Louise Vinther Alis said that treating women the same way as male recruits could actually lead to discrimination against women.

She noted that there have been repeated reports of a large number of women currently serving in the military being subjected to sexual harassment and abuse.

She added that these facts cannot be considered a form of equality, as she put it.

During the interview, the head of the organization was asked what level of abuses within the armed forces must fall to in order for the same requirements to be imposed on women and men.

She responded by saying that her organization would never support sending anyone forcibly to war, regardless of gender, but stressed the need to address what she described as the culture of abuse within the military first.

She stressed that female recruits should not be at significantly greater risk of being touched, harassed, or sexually abused.

The organization links women to the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and fears of rape by both enemies and allies.

Louise Vinther Alis said that women are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men, noting that the organization based this on a study from the University of Southern Denmark (Syddansk Universitet).

During the interview, she was asked whether she believed that women were more likely than men to return from war with psychological trauma under the same circumstances.

She replied that it also depends on how women are treated while they are in conflict zones.

She added that the organization listened to testimonies from female veterans who spoke about having to deal, in addition to the conditions of war, with fears related to the possibility of being raped by either enemy forces or even allied forces.

She explained that these circumstances make women's experience different from men's experience on the battlefields.

The Kvinfo Center rejects the hypothesis of an increased risk of trauma among women.

In contrast, the Berlingske newspaper quoted Henriette Laursen, director of the Kvinfo center, as rejecting the idea that women are more likely to suffer psychological trauma as a result of war.

Henriette Laursen said that women do not face a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder compared to men if all other conditions are equal.

She referred to research conducted by the Danish Veterans Center (Dansk Veterancenter) on soldiers who served in Afghanistan, stressing that the studies did not prove that gender was a decisive factor in suffering long-term psychological trauma.

The women's organization maintains its position despite the criticism.

In response to Kvinfo's position, Louise Vinther Alis said that her organization is not a research center but rather an organization with members, but she assumes that the study issued by the University of Southern Denmark (Syddansk Universitet) on which it was based can be trusted.

She emphasized that the Dansk Kvindesamfund organization opposes the idea of compulsory military service in principle, but acknowledged at the same time that Denmark is facing a difficult geopolitical situation.

She added that the organization would not celebrate or defend the idea of coercion, but stressed the need to ensure that all recruits are protected equally if it is decided to force them to perform military service or participate in wars.