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Gil Won-Ok at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.
Sexual slavery, resistance and women’s
demand for justice were the focus of a recent event hosted by the World
Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland, featuring
representatives of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military
Sexual Slavery by Japan.
Moderated by Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, the WCC’s associate
general secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia, the event was
organized by the WCC programme on the Just Community of Women and Men.
The discussions were part of the WCC’s continuing support to the
survivors of sexual slavery through the Korean Council for Women Drafted
for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
This event was held at the Ecumenical Centre on Tuesday 17 June.
Gil Won-Ok, 87-year-old South Korean survivor of sexual
slavery during World War II, was among the speakers at the event. She
spoke about her experiences as a “comfort woman”, a term used for women
and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial
Army. Gil shared how a widespread call has been made to the Japanese
government to apologize for these acts against humanity. However, such
call has not been acknowledged as yet.
Gil said that her traumatic experiences of sexual
slavery occurred when she was a teenager. She said that it was only
after 50 years that she found the courage to speak about these events.
Gil added that with other women survivors of sexual slavery from those
times, she stands in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul every
Wednesday, calling on the Japanese government to apologize.
Gil said that she feels encouraged by the young
generation who supported the cause of justice for the “comfort women”
abused by Japan’s Imperial Army. It is important for youth to keep the
collective memory of our country alive and keep calling for the Japanese
officials to apologize, she said.
Gil also shared her testimony at a recent WCC
consultation on justice, peace and reconciliation on the Korean
Peninsula. Her reflections set an important context for the
consultation’s quest for justice and peace not only on the Korean
Peninsula but in the region, and for the role of women in building
peace.
Gil’s testimony reminded the group “of the importance of
recognizing and affirming the role of women as active participants in
peace-making, as all too often they are the ones who suffer the most
during wars. True peace cannot be realized without their participation
and contribution,” the communiqué said.
Gil also presented the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr
Olav Fykse Tveit, a sculpture of woman who sits on the chair next to an
empty chair. This gift signifies the need for accompaniment, listening
and involvement, while working for the cause of justice and peace.
Mee Hyang Yoon of the Korean Council for Comfort Women
Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan introduced the participants
to her organization’s activities. It is an organization formed in 1990
by South Korean civil society groups. Through its work it supports the
victims of sexual slavery abused by the Japanese Imperial Army from the
late 1930s to the end of World War II.
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