An Evolution in Women’s International Human Rights

Rape as a Weapon of War

Presenters: Abby Buskager, Sara Ko, Laine Cavanaugh, Erica Freund

Analyze the role of international media in shaping and reconstructing the narrative of “comfort women”

Objective:Understanding the Issue

Communication Theories: Understanding the Issue

❖O’Loughlin and Roselle’s “Strategic Narratives”

❖Manuel Castell’s “Communication Power”

Rape: An Ancient War Weapon

Rape: The“Spoils of War”

Rape: A Strategic Weapon❖ Well organized and systematic❖ ‘Wounding Honor’

- Strategy aimed at relatives of victims- Marred the honor and competence of

those unable to protect their women❖ 1938 “Kristallnacht”

❖ 1945 Soviet counterattack campaign

- As Russian soldiers advanced and eventually occupied Berlin they raped nearly 1 million German women (Smith 269)

The Start of the Discussion: 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

❖ Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

❖ Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

❖Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

❖Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Re-Framing the Narrative: Case of “Comfort Women”

❖ 80,000-200,000 women and girls forcibly conscripted into sexual slavery by Japanese Imperial Army from 1932 to 1945

❖ Majority from Korea but many also from China, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies

❖ Forgotten, dark war-time past and crime until August 1991 when former comfort woman Kim Hak-sun publicly reveals her story

❖ Several other victims follow “Grandma Kim’s” footsteps and filed a lawsuit in Tokyo district court for “crimes against humanity”

❖ Former comfort women cite “shame,” “disgrace,” and “judgment” as main reasons for silencing atrocities

❖ During “spearheaded “mission” by Japanese government, Korean “middle brokers” working under Japanese rule participated to deceive and “recruit” victims

“Comfort Women” Issue: Domestic to Global

Timeline: ❖ Late 1980s: Korean religious and secular human rights

NGOs put public spotlight on “comfort women” issue❖ August 1991: Kim Hak-sun story❖ February 1992: Comfort women issue raised at United

Nations Commission on Human Rights ❖ 1995: Japanese government creates Asian Women’s Fund

but receives international criticism for providing “moral” yet lack of “legal” responsibility

❖ February 6, 1996: The UN officially condemns Japan for sexual slavery

❖ Today: Japanese government continues to deny “forcible sexual slavery” and argues all “compensation” already made during 1965 Normalization Treaty

“Comfort Women” Issue: The Role of International Communication

Narratives of Comfort Women issue ashuman rights issue on the global stage:

❖ Weekly Wednesday protests in front of Japanese Embassy in Seoul begins since January 1992

❖ Various foreign media record and publish “comfort women” stories

❖ Prominent international NGOs (i.e. Amnesty International) create reports and testimonies of former comfort women for global distribution

❖ With Information Age, individual protesters and other civic groups become more active participants in disseminating “comfort women” issue

The Narrative: Comfort Women in the International Arena❖ 2007 Resolution passed in the US House of Representatives: “should

formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women into sexual slavery.”

❖ United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay: said on 6 August 2014 that Japan “has failed to pursue a comprehensive, impartial and lasting resolution” to address the rights of “comfort women” from the Second World War.

❖ Japanese Foreign Ministry Ambassador in charge of human rights and humanitarian issues, Kuni Sato: asked for revisions to comfort women statements, October 14, 2014.

Today: A Fight for the Narrative

Comfort Women Narrative:Yumiko Yamamoto’s Appeals to the UN: "Comfort Women were not Sex Slaves"

Comfort Women Narratives: Arirang Special "Comfort Women - One Last Cry”

Final Analysis: Active Role in Narrative

❖ International Actors International Criminal Court, International Court of

Justice, United Nations

❖Government Actors