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        • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
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2017 California H-SS Framework

“Comfort Women” Passage  

Background
The 2017 California History-Social Science (H-SS) Framework emphasizes several areas: providing greater content knowledge; inquiry-based critical thinking skills in connection with multiple disciplines; stronger literacy skills; and citizenship that promotes human rights and democratic values in the history and social sciences curriculums. In terms of content knowledge, the framework encourages a more inclusive history curriculum, reflective of California’s rich diversity.[1] According to the California History-Social Science Project, a lead author of the new H-SS Framework, 21.6 percent of the total school enrollment in California’s public schools (2012–2013) was classified as English learners. This signifies the necessity of providing students with more content-specific informational texts that are relevant to and reflective of diverse populations. 

The 2017 California H-SS Framework includes content on “comfort women.”[2]  This signifies the need to learn more from this crime against humanity in relation to World War II in Asia, as well as to consider its relevance to the past and present. The draft adopted on July 14, 2016 added a link to the 2015 “comfort women” agreement from the Japanese MOFA. Since the agreement is presented as “final and irreversible,” it can mislead educators into believing that the matter has been settled unequivocally, while in reality this agreement excluded the views of victims and was made in secret as the Special Task Force of South Korea reported on December 27, 2017. 

The final draft of the passage published in 2017 includes links to both the Japanese and South Korean MOFA sites. Placed in the 10th grade 2017 H-SS Framework section 10.8—titled “Causes and Consequences of WWII”—after the question “How was the war mobilized on different fronts?”, it offers an important opportunity to teach students about the devastating impact of WWII in Asia. This topic provides: 1) more comprehensive historical understanding of WWII in different Asian countries, from where many California students’ families originate; 2) awareness of women’s rights and dignity in the context of institutionalized sexual slavery; and 3) examples of the impact of civic engagement, including strengthening the #MeToo movement. Compared to drug and gun trades, which are on a one-time basis, sex trafficking is considered more “profitable” because the victims remain captive and at the mercy of the traffickers’ demands. Consequently, girls and women are extremely vulnerable targets in both armed and non-armed conflict areas.  The fact that such inhumane crimes continue to destroy girls’ and women’s lives makes this topic gravely important and critically relevant to teach in today’s classrooms.
​
  • 2017 California History-Social Science (H-SS) Framework Draft Proposed Before July 14, 2016
“Comfort Women,” a euphemism for sexual slaves, were taken by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during the war. “Comfort Women” can be taught as an example of institutionalized sexual slavery, and one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the twentieth century; estimates on the total number of comfort women vary, but most argue that hundreds of thousands of women were forced into these situations during Japanese occupation.

  • 2017 California History-Social Science (H-SS) Framework Draft Adopted Draft on July 14, 2016
“Comfort Women,” a euphemism for sexual slaves, were taken by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during the war. “Comfort Women” can be taught as an example of institutionalized sexual slavery; estimates on the total number of comfort women vary, but most argue that hundreds of thousands of women were forced into these situations during Japanese occupation. On December 28, 2015, the government of Japan and the Republic of Korea entered into an agreement regarding the issue of comfort women. This document can be found at http://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na/kr/page4e_000364.html   
​
  • 2017 California History-Social Science (H-SS) Framework Published Draft, June 2017
“Comfort Women” is a euphemism that describes women who were forced into sexual service by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during the war. Comfort Women can be taught as an example of institutionalized sexual slavery; estimates on the total number of Comfort Women vary, but most argue that hundreds of thousands of women were forced into these situations during Japanese occupation. On December 28, 2015, the governments of Japan and the Republic of Korea entered into an agreement regarding the issues of Comfort Women. Two translations of this document can be found at http://www.mofa.go. jp/a_o/na/kr/page4e_000364.html (accessed June 29, 2017) and http://www.mofa. go.kr/ENG/press/ministrynews/20151228/1_71575.jsp?menu=m_10_10 (accessed June 29, 2017). P. 353

Significance of Teaching “Comfort Women” History and Issues
​Teaching “comfort women” history is significant because this dark period of state-sanctioned military sexual slavery is a deeply relevant topic rooted in imperialism, human rights violations, violence, discrimination, as well as distortion and denial of history—fundamental problems that echo into today. It was a human tragedy that encompassed widespread human rights violations against women and girls, yet justice has been denied to the survivors. Though the Japanese military sexual slavery system operated before and during WWII, its effects ripple outward to other tragedies of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and non-conflict around the globe. 

The basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System and the section Central Themes and Research Topics[3] list themes, topics, and questions relevant to the causes and consequences of the Japanese military sexual slavery system along with other various forms of oppresion at the intersection of imperialism, human rights violations, violence, discrimination, and ongoing injustice rooted in distortion and denial of history. Educators can use the Central Themes and Research Topics section as additional materials to plan their lessons, units, or courses. 

[1] California Department of Education History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools : Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, (Sacramento, 2017), 1–15.
[2] California Department of Education History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools : Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, (Sacramento, 2017), 353.
[3] ESJF, “Comfort Women” History and Issues, 39–50.
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • International Community Outreach >
        • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
          • ESJF Student Art Competition
          • ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression
          • Letter to Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office
        • Days for Girls International
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request
    • Blog
    • ESJF in the News
  • Topics
    • Countering Sexual & Gender-based Violence >
      • Military "Comfort Women" System >
        • International "Comfort Women" Day >
          • 30th Anniversary of Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni's public testimony >
            • Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni
        • 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue >
          • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
            • Timeline
            • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition >
              • Guidelines
              • Application
            • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign >
              • Guidelines
              • Application
          • Reports and Papers on Sexual Violence & Slavery
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray & Afghanistan
    • HISTORY and Issues Surrounding ASIAN DIASPORA in the United States
    • Weapons of Mass Destruction and Medical Experimentation
  • Educator Resources
    • Countering Sexual & Gender-based Violence: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Primary Source Documents: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
        • Concerning the Recruitment of Women for Military Comfort Stations
        • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Report No. 49
        • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Bulletin No. 2
        • SEATIC Psychological Warfare Bulletin No. 182
        • G-3 Daily Dairy
        • C.B.I. Roundup
        • Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) No. 470
        • Research Report No. 120: Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces
        • San Francisco Local History >
          • Resolutions >
            • Resolution 158-25A1
          • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
          • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
          • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
        • Photographs
      • Secondary Source Documents/ Further Resources: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
        • Secondary Resource References
        • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, April 21, 2021
        • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, January 8, 2021
        • International Joint Statement, August 14, 2019
        • International Joint Statement, March 1, 2019
        • International Joint Statement, October 6, 2018
        • International Joint Statement, January 7, 2018
      • Historical Background
      • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
        • Korea
        • China
        • Philippines
        • Indonesia
        • Japan
        • Netherlands
      • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
        • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
      • Lesson Plans: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
        • ​Reality and trauma of military sexual slavery
        • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
        • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
        • A Global plague
        • Collective activism
        • Contemporary movements towards justice
        • Sexual and medical violence against Blacks
      • Worksheets
      • Activity Sheets
      • Map of Memorials in the United States
      • YouTube >
        • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
        • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
        • Justice for the victims of the Japanese military “comfort women” system
        • Animation Herstory
        • Life as a "Comfort Woman": Story of Kim Bok-Dong
        • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement and Victims' Reaction
        • 2018 International "Comfort Women" Day
      • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
    • HISTORY and Issues Surrounding ASIAN DIASPORA in the United States >
      • K-5
      • 6-8
      • 9-12
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Weapons of Mass Destruction and Medical Experimentation >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Lesson Plans
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
  • Our Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Weapons of Mass Destruction and Medical Experimentation >
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • United States
  • Professional Development Events
  • Partners
  • Give