08 Mar 2007: ISS Today: `Comfort Women`: No Comfort, Only the Brutality of Men at War

8 March 2007: “Comfort Women”: No Comfort, Only the Brutality of Men at War

 

On 2 March 2007, the issue of “comfort women” was raised again by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in which he denied that the military had forced women into sexual slavery during World War II. He stated, "The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion." Before he spoke, a group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers also sought to revise Yohei Kono`s 1993 apology to former comfort women. (5 March 2007, Japan PM: No More WWII Brothel Apologies, Guardian, UK)

 

Commentary

 

2007 marks the 30th anniversary of International Women`s Day. The moving force behind this occasion is the need to place women and their rights to equality on the global agenda. It has been observed in some form since in the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. In 1977 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting member states to proclaim a UN Day for Women`s Rights and International Peace - International Women`s Day - which is observed on 8 March.

 

This important day provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress made to advance women`s rights and to assess the challenges that remain. International Women`s Day should encourage us to consider steps to bring about equality for women and girls in all their diversity and to celebrate the collective power of women, past, present and future.

 

We must acknowledge that many of the problems encountered by women arise as a direct consequence of their gender. Every day, in countries around the world, women and girls, desperate for economic opportunity, and seeking to follow their dreams of a better life, are lured from home by promises of jobs and security.  Sadly, too often they find themselves trapped in a nightmare, turned into prostitutes, imprisoned by employers, mistreated, sexually abused and sometimes never seen or heard from again. While entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their gender.

 

More than 1 billion people in the world today, the great majority of whom are women, live in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in developing countries. Women`s lives continue to be endangered by violence directed at them simply because they are women.  Violence against women knows no class, race, or age. It exists across all socio-economic groups, and it is a daily phenomenon in the lives of women throughout the world. 

 

Indeed, the recent statement by Japanese Prime Minister strongly reinforces the suffering of women and girls in today’s world. In fact, on 2 March 2007, the issue of “comfort women” was raised again by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, when he said that there was no evidence Japan coerced Asian women into working as sex slaves during World War II, backtracking from a landmark 1993 statement in which the government acknowledged that it set up and ran brothels for its troops. The 1993 apology was made by the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, but was not approved by the parliament. The recent Japanese Prime Minister’s denial came after several members of the US House of Representatives had drafted a nonbinding resolution calling him to "formally acknowledge, apologise and accept historical responsibility" for using "comfort women" during the war. Supporters want an apology similar to the one the US government gave to Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. That apology was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

 

The Prime Minister’s attitude is regrettable and shows that the ghost of inequality and disrespect continues to haunt women and women’s rights.  In fact, “comfort women” or “military comfort women” is a euphemism for between 80,000 and 200,000 “forced sex labourers”, most of whom came from Korea and China, and were conscripted into military brothels in Japanese-occupied countries during World War II. Women were enslaved against their will and repeatedly raped, tortured and brutalised for months or years on end, exclusively for the benefit of Japanese military. Women were abducted or obtained by deception and, in some cases, girls were purchased from destitute parents. The majority of victims were under the age of 20 and some girls were as young as 12.

 

The Japanese Government has vigorously defended its legal position on this issue and has persistently maintained that all issues of compensation were settled by post-war peace treaties. Japan’s earlier apologies to the former “comfort women” were half-hearted and the government has refused to accept any legal liability. Japan’s answer to demands for compensation has failed to meet international guidelines on reparation and compensation.

 

No more “Comfort women”?

 

Could we say that in the post-World War II world, there are no more comfort women? The answer is “no” if we consider the number and cases of sexual abuses committed by military and paramilitary forces around the world and especially in Africa. It is even worse when “peacekeepers” are also involved in these practices.

 

The experience of women during WWII is not unique. Women continue to suffer from systematic rape and assault in war and conflict. Women in Rwanda, Liberia, Somalia, Sierra-Leone, Burundi, DRC, Sudan and elsewhere have reported deliberate and systematic rape and abuse during conflict. These crimes are war crimes and human rights violations of the gravest magnitude.

 

Japan, other states and individuals, should be taught that this system of forced sexual slavery is a crime against humanity that does not lapse with the passing of time. The denial of a just remedy for surviving former “comfort women” is a human rights violation. Victims’ needs have to be at the core of any attempt to address past violations. So far, Japan’s actions have ignored victims’ needs and actually compounded the initial human rights violations committed against them. It is well established in international law that where a state has committed gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law, as Japan did in the case of the "comfort women," the government is obliged to investigate such abuses, prosecute those responsible, provide adequate remedies to the victims and prevent future abuses.

 

These women deserve justice. It is vital that as we are celebrating the International Women’s Day, the surviving “comfort women” are given back their dignity. Just remedy for the survivors of the comfort system will give hope to survivors and victims, as well as set a precedent for other women suffering today.

 

Joseph Yav, Senior Researcher, Direct Conflict Prevention Programme, ISS Addis Ababa Office