EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOUNDATION
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COUNTERING SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE​

A world with genuine gender equity protects and celebrates the full humanity, fundamental rights, and actualized potentials of women and girls. However, that world is not yet a reality. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is an egregious consequence of gender inequity and a grave violation of human rights. SGBV permanently impacts victims, families, communities, and societies at large even after the violence has ended. At ESJF, we incorporate lessons learned from history into dignity-affirming and critical-thinking based education to address sidelined issues, such as SGBV.

Among many different past cases of sexual and gender-based violence, the chilling history of the Japanese military sexual slavery system before and during WWII serves as an important teaching resource. 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 countries in Asia into military sexual slavery. These women and girls are euphemistically referred to as “comfort women.” The UN defines this state-sanctioned and systemic violence as a crime against humanity.
 
Teaching “comfort women” history today bears significance. First, this crime continues to today, and learning its history can help stop or disrupt the cycle of SGBV. The massive scale and methodical nature of Japanese military sexual slavery along with the mass murder of victims as the military faced defeat make this one of the most profound instances of human rights violations in history. The survivors collectively have said that they do not want the crimes that they suffered repeated against others. The history of “comfort women” serves as a warning against all forms of sexual violence, state-sponsored or otherwise. Second, the history of “comfort women” 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. The questions raised by the history of and issues surrounding “comfort women” also extend to critical issues of civil rights advocacy, such as the #MeToo movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. Lastly, through the grassroots movement led by the survivors, this history demonstrates the empowering impact of advocacy and civic engagement. It reminds us that we have the power to advocate for ourselves should our rights and dignity be violated or compromised. It also teaches us that we all have a responsibility to advocate for and support others. By leading the grassroots movement for women’s human rights and empowerment, the survivors of the Japanese military sexual slavery system turned what could have been sidelined history into a transnational women’s rights movement. 
Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
Sexual Violence and Medical Atrocities Against Black Americans
Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray & Afghanistan
Reports and Papers on SGBV & Gender Justice
Picture
Picture
​Background: While stationed in China from 1937 to 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Murase documented the horrors of war through photography. In his book, My China Front, he included close to two hundred photos, voicing his opposition to the war and condemning the atrocities the Japanese government committed against civilians and soldiers. 
Location: Hankou, China
Photographer: Moriyasu Murase
Source: Murase, Moriyasu.  My China Front, Japan, 1987.
Hak-Soon Kim (1924–1997), first survivor of the Jpapanese wartime military sexual slavery system to testify in public on ​August 14, 1991, speaking at the Wednesday Demonstration in 1996
Photo credit: The Korean Council
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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