Global Plague

​Lesson Plan 1 of 2
Purpose: This activity teaches students about how the human trafficking which was integral to the Japanese wartime institution of “comfort stations” has not ceased with the war, but continues to this day.  It allows students to process the heavy topic of military sexual violence and slavery and gives them the opportunity, in some small way, participate in activism.  This is recommended as a culminating activity for teaching “comfort women.”
 
Objective: Students will learn about how “comfort women” were trafficked and will then learn about modern day human trafficking.  They will then design a campaign to inform their larger community about the issue of human trafficking and start a letter writing campaign to their representatives about this issue. 
 
California History-Social Science Content Standard: 10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.  (Part of addressing that standard in the New HSS Curriculum Framework includes, “‘Comfort women’ is a euphemism that describes women who were forced into sexual service by the Japanese Army…”)
 
Suggested Time: 1-3 class days (at least one hour of class time)
 
Procedure:
  • Teachers should spend 5-10 minutes teaching students about the concept of human trafficking - the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act, and how the people who are trafficked always find themselves in that situation as a result of deception and misplaced trust.  Students can be reminded that the African slave trade was a form of human trafficking, and then informed that that most “comfort women” were trafficked as they were not held captive and forced to serve as sexual slaves in the places where they were originally from, but were transported across borders to other countries to “work” in military “comfort stations” in the Japanese occupied zone. 
 
  • Students should be shown an animated short based on the life of Jeong Seo-woon  www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmWdrlv3fI  (Up to minute 3:50- 4:00.  STOP at minute 4.  The  minutes following are disturbing for adults, much less children)
 
  • Students should then have a discussion about the video.  Possible discussion questions include:
    • Why did Jeong Seo-woon’s father bury the brass cookware?
    • Why might Jeong Seo-woon’s father have been angry with her for visiting the prison?
    • Why did Jeong Seo-woon ‘choose’ to go work for the Japanese?  Did she have enough information to make an informed choice?  What choice might you have made in her place?
 
  • Next, have students read a short excerpt about how the teenage girls who were used as “comfort women” were taken and transported around Asia.  Either an excerpt from an interview with Kim Soon-duk or an excerpt from 25 Years of Wednesdays by Mee-Hyang Yoon.
    • Noreen Shanahan, "The NI Interview - Kim Soon-duk," New Internationalist, May 1999. newint.org/features/1999/05/05/interview
    • Mee-Hyang Yoon, 25 Years of Wednesdays (Seoul, Republic of Korea: Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, 2019), [Page 77-83].
  • Have students make notes as they read of what the circumstances were that led to the girls finding themselves in the custody of the Japanese, what promises/offers were made to them and what locations they ended up in.
  • Have a discussion with students about their notes, and then ask if they think that human trafficking could be a problem today.
  • Show students the human trafficking chart found here: eac-network.org/modern-day-slavery/
  • Students should then read about modern-day human trafficking from the Human Rights Watch website: www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/05/trafficking-survivors-are-being-failed-world-over
  • (optional local project) Teachers should search their local news ahead of time to find out if there have been any stories about human trafficking in their own area.  If there have been local stories about human trafficking then teachers should invite students to research this topic in their own area.  Students should document as a class where the people being trafficked are coming from, what they are being forced to do, what parts of the students’ city/what industries trafficked people are being found in, and what their local municipality is doing about it.  
  • If there is no local reporting on human trafficking students can research what they can do to stop human trafficking by looking at the UNICEF website. www.unicefusa.org/mission/protect/trafficking/end
  • Students should then be placed in groups where they can brainstorm what they can do to raise awareness about human trafficking and/or help victims (potential ideas include an awareness campaign in their school, writing letters to the editor or OP-ED pieces for their local newspaper, raising funds to give to an organization that helps victims, organizing a letter-writing campaign to their local representatives in support of anti-trafficking laws).
  • After students have come up with their project idea each group should take turns presenting their idea to the class.  The class then should vote on which one (or at most two) projects they want to put into action
 
Materials/Handouts:  
Additional Comments/Feedback:

Lesson Plan 2 of 2

Purpose: By comparing and contrasting aspects of seemingly unrelated cases, students will deepen their understanding of the breadth and saturation of sexual violence globally and within the context of various power dynamics. They will then use this knowledge to postulate why occurrences of sexual violence have yet to substantially diminish; and perhaps, what they can do to help eradicate it in the future. 

Objective: Students will read about the experiences of different communities of people who have been subjected to sexual exploitation. They will fill out a profile for their case in small groups, then share their analysis with the entire class as a means of deepening their understanding of how race and power dynamics can overlap in abuse scenarios.

California Social Studies Content Standard: 10.11 Economic Integration and Contemporary Revolutions in Information, Technology, and Communications—Students think about the following questions: Has the world become more peaceful? Is the nature of conflict changing? How do ideas about universal human rights relate to other value and identity systems in the contemporary world? 11.11 Contemporary American Society—How did the Cold War end and what foreign policy developments came out of it? In what ways have issues such as education; civil rights for people of color, immigrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and disabled Americans; economic policy; the environment; and the status of women remained unchanged over time? In what ways have they changed?
 
Suggested Time: 1 class day (at least one hour of class time)

Procedure: 
  • Teachers should prepare the class prior to this activity. Warn the class ahead of time that they will read articles that mention graphic sexual violence. If students are triggered, bothered, or simply uncomfortable, appropriate accommodations should be made.  
  • Teachers assign the articles to students. Students will be placed in breakout groups with one article per group. It is important to use multiple articles as the dynamics of the various scenarios will be compared and contrasted when they return to the main class group. 
  • Teachers assign small group questions that students answer as they read the articles:
      Intermediate Questions  
  1.             Who was the abuser?
  2.             Who was/were the victims?
  3.             How did the abuser have access to their victim(s)?
  4.             If other people knew about the abuse, why might they have not reported it?
  5.             How could a similar situation be avoided in the future?
     Advanced Questions
  1. Briefly describe the the power dynamic that enabled the abuse to exist.
  2. Who was in the position of power in this case?
  3. What excuse, (if any), was given for the abuse?
  4. Who was responsible for the safety of those victimized?
  5. Who was indirectly impacted by the actions of the perpetrators?
  6. What structures might be put in place to avoid this type of abuse in the future?
  7. What other scenarios does this remind you of?
  8. Could a similar scenario occur today? Why or why not?
  • After reconvening as a whole class, groups will present their case studies and their answers. Answer the following questions together as a class:
     Intermediate Questions  
  1. What do these cases have in common?
  2. Based on your knowledge of history and current events, do you feel that sexual violence has decreased? Why or why not?
  3. How can vulnerable people protect themselves from abuse (if at all possible)?
  4. How does the trauma of sexual abuse impact more than the direct victims? (Think of family, friends, community)
  5. Do you feel that communities as a whole are responsible for sexual abuse, or is it solely the blame of the abuser? Explain.  
     Advanced Questions
  1. What are some common factors shared by each of these cases? What do these common factors indicate in terms of likelihood and prevalence of sexual exploitation?
  2. Are scenarios such as those you studied today more or less common than in the past? Why or why not?
  3. How can we as a society ensure that people who are not in a position of power feel safe and empowered? 
  4. What type of governmental or community oversight might be beneficial to ensuring that vulnerable populations are protected from exploitation?
  5. How does sexual abuse impact the community at large?
  6. When sexual abuse is knowingly carried out within a community of otherwise ethical people, who is ultimately responsible for the extent of the abuse? Who is responsible for rectifying the situation/seeking justice for the victims?
  7. How have advancements in human rights impacted the safety and protections afforded to vulnerable populations, including women, LGBTQ community, refugees, and other socio-economically and physically disadvantaged people experiencing various gender inequalities and injustices embedded in society?
​
​Assignment/ Follow-up: 

On their own, have the students write reflectively on how this exercise relates to what they have learned about the 
“Comfort Women” system enacted by Japan during World War Two. Compare, contrast, and hypothesize various ways 
in which such systemically ignored or condoned abuses could be avoided in the future.

Materials/Handouts: (Teachers are welcome to use other articles that they feel are on topic and age-level appropriate.)
  1. “Comfort Women” History and Issues: Teacher Resource Guide,3rd Edition 
  2. Cameron House in San Francisco                                                                                                                                        https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a34789180/cameron-house-julia-flynn-siler/
  3. Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics                                                                                                                             https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/1/19/16897722/sexual-abuse-usa-gymnastics-larry-nassar-explained
  4. Boko Haram                                                                                                                                                                       https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-chibok-girls-survivors-of-kidnapping-by-boko-haram-share-their-stories-60-minutes/
  5. ISIS and the Yazidi                                                                                                                                                  https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html      
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