The Yet to be Resolved Issue of WW2 Comfort Women and What Can it Tell Us About Universal Human Rights and Ensuring Female Safety During War Times

by Theodor M. Dorin

In a world still riddled with alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, coupled with increasing political and socio-economic instability, the issue of heightened incidences of abuse towards women during times of war or social unrest becomes an even more relevant and pressing problem to tackle. Recent conflicts only demonstrate the magnitude of atrocities committed against women in times of armed conflict, for example, how acts of sexual violence are employed as war currency and the impending dangers that loom over female citizens in vulnerable, war-torn areas. In fact, the issue is so prevalent that it often constitutes one of the main arguments against mandatory conscription for women, since they stand at a much higher risk of sexual bodily harm than their male counterparts. In short, the direct correlation between armed conflict and increase in violence, especially sexual violence, targeted towards women is simply indubitable.

The Japanese campaign forcing women into sexual labour and enslavement during World War II, referring to them as “comfort women” , stands out among historically recorded gender-based war crimes due to its tacit coordination, sheer brutality, and the scale at which it was conducted: approximations place the number of victims between 70, 000 and 200, 000, further showing the gravity of it all. The ongoing debate about the issue of comfort women has yet to reach a concrete outcome. It thus exceeds the realms of bilateral relationships between nations and equally fits the discourse about universal human rights based upon several considerations. First and foremost, as previously established, sexual abuse faced by women during war times is a global phenomenon that sadly continues at an unhindered rate. There are plenty of conversations to be had on the urgency for ensuring women’s safety from sexual violence and war crimes. If the officials involved in the orchestration of such practice, either directly or indirectly, are held responsible for previously committed acts, this would serve as a deterrent for future action against sexual violence and embolden changes to take effect. Sadly, the number of survivors dwindling each passing year raises concerns about the difficulties in keeping the issue alive in collective memory. Secondly, although most of the comfort women came from Korea, there are several victim accounts from China, South-East Asia, Taiwan, and other Pacific nations amounting to 15 countries in total, revealing the wider scope of the practice.Failure to admit to war atrocities has soured Japanese-Korean and Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations alike. Historically, a state publicly admitting to war crimes and ensuring commitment to retributory action comes as a result of public pressure and backlash campaigns, as we saw with Germany after the Second World War. The Japanese public’s apparent aloofness and oblivion to this chapter of history stems from a lack of education on the topic which deserves the appropriate awareness. What is more, the government takes active action to discourage, if not censor, discourse on the subject, which is already considered highly controversial and taboo in Japanese society. The topic is still largely avoided due to fears that it might delegitimize Japan as a democratic state and destabilise the image of the nation, narrative fuelled by the pervasiveness of right and alt-right ideology in Japan and the absence of a strong left opposition to claim otherwise. Examples range from removal of any mentions of war atrocities in history textbooks and the lack of emphasis on WW2 in the educational system to the absence of media coverage on anything related to comfort women and the shadow-banning of adjacent discourse in the public space. Considering all this, general awareness among the population, let alone a call for concrete action, proves tremendously difficult to take form.

Statue of confort women in a Ashfield Uniting Church, Australia Oronsay, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0> , via Wikimedia Commons

There is another dimension to be discussed, considering Japan is no stranger to lingering gender inequality, namely a lack of information and understanding around the operational mechanisms of sexual violence in the population and a prevailing systemic sexual abuse culture. A brief look at the circulating discourse that opposes resolution of the comfort women issue reveals that the most common argument invoked highly resembles narratives employed to discredit sexual assault in general: arguing that it was, in fact, a consensual act of prostitution on the women’s part, and not forced sexual enslavement by the Japanese troops. Consequently, the lack of public response to the topic can be in part attributed to a poor understanding of consent, of what sexual violence entails, and of the gravity of it all.

In closing, Japan openly admitting to fault and not evading responsibility for what happened to “comfort women” would pave the way for much needed conversations around sexual violence in times of war and the effective application of international war legislation meant to better protect women everywhere. By facing the consequences and taking active action to amend past wrongdoings, this could create an example of gender-based violence not gone unpunished and prevent history from repeating itself. Perhaps fears of triggering a chain reaction across East Asia, encouraging other countries to seek reparations for WW2 crimes if Japan admits to the ones pertaining to South Korea, can also be something that incentivises Tokyo to take the denialist’s position. However, one thing certain is that ensuring female safety is a matter that concerns universal human rights, rather than strictly bilateral relations.