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“comfort women” History and Issues

“Comfort Women” History and Issues: Teacher Resource Guide
“Comfort Women” History and Issues: Student  Resource Guide 

Introduction

The study of history connects us to our past, enables us to assess the present, and guides us forward; it provides students with the framework and tools to understand the world, examine the role each person plays, and decide how they want to have an impact. History often records the voices of the powerful while ignoring those of marginalized populations. We can address these severe disparities by critically examining information from multiple sources, making historical connections through inquiry-based learning, and drawing our own conclusions based on evidence and reasoning. Through this process, students gain a deeper and broader understanding of history while also getting the opportunity to reflect on their values and choices for today and tomorrow.

The mission of the Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESJF) is to provide education on past injustices that have been relegated to the sidelines of history. This publication is dedicated to the history of and issues surrounding Japanese military sexual slavery.  

The Japanese military sexual slavery system, established and operated by the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces from the 1930s until the end of World War II, forced hundreds of thousands of women and girls from at least thirteen Asian countries into military sexual slavery (Appendix A). The massive scale and chillingly methodical nature of Japanese military sexual slavery along with the mass murder of numerous victims as the military faced defeat make the Japanese military sexual slavery system one of the most profound instances of human rights violations in history. In fact, in 1998, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights defined Japanese military sexual slavery as a crime against humanity. 

However, Japan’s official position on the “comfort women” system does not reflect the views and experiences of the survivors. Instead of formally acknowledging this crime against humanity, the Japanese government misrepresents or denies the history of Japanese military sex slaves, often referred to as “comfort women.” The term “comfort women,” which ignores the atrocious and inhumane reality of Japanese military sex slaves, was in common use for decades. In order to make the connection, this resource guide uses the terms “comfort women” and Japanese military sex slaves interchangeably. To indicate the dehumanizing nature of the term, “comfort women” is enclosed in quotes. Although some supporters of Japan’s official position erroneously believe that “comfort women” issues are strictly political issues between Korea and Japan, this is not so. This dark history of state-sanctioned military sexual violence and slavery is about widespread human rights violations against women and girls. The effects of this systemic, state-sanctioned military sexual enslavement of the   ’30s and ’40s have rippled outward to other tragedies of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and non-conflict around the globe. Hence, since the early 1990s, survivors of the “comfort women” system have demanded an official apology and reparations from the Japanese government. Together with their justice-seeking supporters, the survivors transformed their fight for restorative justice into a transnational women’s human rights movement. 

The state-sanctioned Japanese military sexual slavery system exposes the devastating impact of WWII in Asia on women and girls. Studying this history offers a multi-faceted intersection of imperialism, human rights violations, violence, discrimination, and ongoing injustice rooted in distortion and denial of history. The section Central Themes and Research Topics is especially useful in addressing this end.

Aligned with the Common Core Standards, the History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools (K-12), and the 2017 California H-SS Framework, this resource guide provides lesson plans and materials to teach “comfort women” history or as well as a vehicle to address sexual and gender-based violence across history worldwide. Throughout the resource guide, comparative thinking strategies are heavily incorporated, prodding students to ask questions, think, and rethink. Open-ended questions before and after each sub-section also invite students’ inquiry-thinking skills and further learning. Overall, in addition to providing education on the history of and issues surrounding Japanese military sexual slavery, this resource guide is designed to help students develop their analytical, critical, and comparative thinking skills, while increasing a sense of agency and civic engagement. 

The third edition of “Comfort Women” History and Issues: Teacher Resource Guide is comprised of five main parts:

1)  the history of remembering and honoring “comfort women” through education and collective activism; 

2) reflections from former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Eric Mar, who proposed a resolution to install a memorial for “comfort women,” and from sculptor Steven Whyte, who designed the Women’s Column of Strength, co-written by gallery director, Ellen Wilson; 

3) primary source documents with background information; 

4) survivors’ testimonies from Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and the Netherlands;

5) lesson plans, worksheets, and activity sheets.

Lesson plans were developed by Christina Tang, Faye Kwan, Erin Hanlon, and Carrie Seidler, active San Francisco Bay Area high school teachers who are committed to teaching the history of marginalized populations. Parents and educators developed activity sheets to reinforce and integrate learning. These supplemental materials include a back-to-back sheet of quick facts on military sex slaves and a map that can be used as a paper fortune teller origami activity and puzzles. Together with dedicated teachers, parents, and advocates, ESJF distributed “Comfort Women” History and Issues: Teacher Resource Guide throughout SFUSD high schools in spring 2018.   

This resource guide is the culmination of community collaboration. Without the input of other justice-seeking individuals, both here and abroad, it would not have come to fruition. Education has always been a basic building block and pillar for human progress. ESJF hopes that this publication can help students increase their historical and social awareness, standing together for peace and justice. 
                                                                                                         
Sung Sohn, M.Ed.                                                                                                                                                                                                              Co-Founder & Executive Director                                                                                                                                                                              Education for Social Justice Foundation
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • Advocacy >
        • International Community Outreach >
          • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
            • Our First Advocacy
            • 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
        • Civil Society
    • Blog
    • Interviews and articles
  • Educator Resources
    • Sexual and Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese military sexual slavery system >
        • Brief Historical Background
        • Lesson Plans and Worksheets >
          • ​In Their Own Words
          • Resistance & Collective activism
          • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
          • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
          • Global plague
          • Contemporary movements towards justice
          • Worksheets
          • Puzzles
        • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
          • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
        • Map of "Comfort Women" Memorials in the United States
        • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
          • Korea
          • China
          • Philippines
          • Indonesia
          • Japan
          • Netherlands
        • 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
            • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
          • Images
        • Secondary Source Documents and ESJF Statements >
          • 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
        • Reflections on Collective Activism in SF >
          • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
          • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
          • Reflection: Sung Sohn
        • 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
        • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
        • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
          • Timeline
          • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition
          • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • YouTube >
          • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
          • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
          • 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
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue
      • Sexual and medical violence against Black Americans >
        • Lesson Plans >
          • Medical Experimentation on Enslaved Women
          • Nurse Rivers
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray and Afghanistan
      • Reports and Papers on SGBV & Gender Justice
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States >
      • ESJF >
        • 19th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • 20th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • Today >
          • Lesson Plans
      • TACT >
        • K-5
        • 6-8
        • 9-12
      • Facing History and Ourselves
      • Fred T. Korematsu Institute
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Lesson Plans
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
    • Resistance and Collective Activism >
      • U.S. Slavery
      • Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
  • ESJF Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons
  • ESJF Professional Development opportunities
  • Get Involved
    • Join Our Email List
    • Donate
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request