MME Scenario Collection

"At the end of a medical information session in a very poor war-torn country, a young soldier came up to me. He asked whether he should use condoms when engaging in rape.

I answered "yes". I was in little doubt that he should use condoms at all times, and in even less doubt of his duty not to rape. But was that the right answer to that specific question? That seemed debatable.

Assuming it is anyway better for a woman to be raped without getting an infection or an unwanted pregnancy, rather than being raped with those added harms, I should answer "yes". But would answering "yes" make me complicit in rape? Should I instead have lied about the efficacy of condoms, hoping for a deterrent effect? Would not answering at all have been any better for myself, or for him, or for any subsequent person he raped?"