This article foregrounds the long-overlooked sexual violence perpetrated against Jewish women during the Holocaust. It calls for fuller integration of survivors’ testimonies of sexual violence into our understanding of Holocaust history and prompts recognition of the ongoing reality of conflict-related sexual violence today.
Professor Jing Williams considers her education on the “Comfort Women” issue as “a process of planting seeds for the future,” recognizing that some of her students may become advocates for women’s human rights.
Clearly, liberal democratic initiatives such as the enshrinement of women's rights will continue to fail until structural inequalities, as well as the social norms that allow gender-based violence, are confronted
The Philippines’ ninth Periodic Report on the implementation of the CEDAW cites the Safe Spaces Act and the Anti-Mail Order Spouse Act, but there is no mention of the “Comfort Women.” When asked, the Philippine Commission on Women gives sympathetic statements
While warfare continues inflicting damage and suffering in today’s world, and rape of women is still used as an instrument of armed conflicts, it is critical to bring the narratives of the “Comfort Women” into public memory.