Group 3's Powerpoint presentation of "Rape as a Weapon of War-Case of 'Comfort Women'"

1. An Evolution in Women’s International
Human Rights
Rape as a Weapon of War
Presenters: Abby Buskager, Sara Ko, Laine
Cavanaugh, Erica Freund

2. Analyze the role of international media in
shaping and reconstructing the narrative of
“comfort women”
Objective:
Understanding the Issue

3. Communication Theories:
Understanding the Issue
❖O’Loughlin and Roselle’s “Strategic
Narratives”
❖Manuel Castell’s “Communication Power”

4. Rape: An Ancient War Weapon

5. Rape: The“Spoils of War”

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. 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

9. “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

10. “Comfort Women” Issue:
The Role of International Communication
Narratives of Comfort Women issue as
human 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

11. 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.

12. Today: A Fight for the Narrative

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

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

15. Final Analysis:
Active Role in Narrative
❖ International Actors
 International Criminal Court, International Court of
Justice, United Nations
❖ Government Actors