Women sailors in the Australian navy have complained that there have been bets placed on their sexual availability. Apparently, there’s a record called “the Ledger” which the sailors have been keeping. These women have been embarrassed to discover that the sailors have been keeping score and that’s why they are complaining. Now it looks as if there’s going to be a lot of fuss about it all.

Australians love to have a bet. They’ll even bet on two flies crawling up a wall. So it should not be surprising if the sailors bet on a female putting out, so to speak. Young men and young women on a boat together for weeks at a time, what can you expect?

This is not a case of rape or harassment. If it were then it would be a crime and the women should take action. What is going on, however, is the placing of bets on women who agree to have sex with fellow sailors. The Ledger may be stupid but not surprising. So let’s not have another silly inquiry into this matter.

Honestly, it is incredible to me that women who are progressive enough to seek a naval career don’t realise that men will be boys, especially around women. There’s a simple solution to all this, in my opinion. The best way to stop the betting on who puts out is for the women to keep their distance. After all, there is a well-known rule of not having affairs at the office. Well, this is the same thing, surely. The ship is the office and if the betting game is offensive to the women sailors, well, they can easily put a stop to it by saying “No.”