Kids & Family

Remembering the Exploited 'Comfort Women' of WWII

Lavine sponsors measure recognizing memorial to sex slaves of the Japanese armed forces.

An effort by the Korean-American community to remember the so-called "Comfort Women" of the WWII era is being promoted by Assemblyman Charles Lavine. 

Last week, Lavine, D-Glen Cove, presented David Lee, President of the Korean-American Public Affairs Committee with a proclamation from the state Assembly. Thousands of women from South East Asia were compelled to become sex slaves for Japanese military personnel under brutal conditions.

Lavine commended the Korean American community for its efforts to erect a memorial in Eisenhower Park commemorating the suffering of thousands of women.

The monument in Eisenhower Park pays tribute to the tens of thousands of young women from Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia and the Netherlands who were forced into sexual servitude from the 1930’s through World War II by the occupying Imperial Japanese Armed Forces.

"Commemorating this monument serves as a reminder of the inhumanity suffered by thousands of girls and women during those cruel years and ensures that we remember that this type of brutalization against girls and women continues in other parts of the world every day," Lavine said.

Find out what's happening in Glen Covewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We must resolve, as people of good conscience and honor, to do our part to put an end to these crimes against humanity,” he said.

Lee expressed his gratitude to Lavine for his sponsorship of this resolution and said he was encouraged by the efforts of all to ensure that the Comfort Women will never be forgotten.

Find out what's happening in Glen Covewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"By the leadership of Assemblyman Charles Lavine, New York State Assembly revealed the historical significance of the "Comfort Women" issue to the world," Lee said. "It is not the issue in between Asian countries but a universal issue over the border and the time."

The exact number of women forced into prostitution is a subject of debate, but most scholars agree the number approached or exceeded 200,000 during the  rise and fall of the Empire of Japan.

Young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes or lured with promises of work. They were then detained in "comfort stations" in foreign land for use as sex slaves for soldiers, according to historians. 

In many cases, women were also lured with promises of work in factories or restaurants. Once recruited, the women, too,  were incarcerated in comfort stations in foreign lands. An estimated three quarters of these women died from the repeated brutalization, and most survivors were left infertile due to sexual trauma or sexually transmitted disease, historians report.

A small number of the women are still alive and meet regularly in support groups. Comfort women have long sought a public, worldwide apology from the Japanese government for the war atrocities committed, the Huffington Post reported.



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here