Comfort Women Speak recounts the harrowing history of the Japanese military’s system of sexual slavery during World War II, in which an estimated 200,000 girls and women, some as young as eleven, were abducted, deceived, and forced into “comfort stations” across Asia. There, they endured systematic rape, physical abuse, forced abortions, sterilization, and extreme deprivation, often serving up to fifty soldiers a day. Most did not survive, and those who did were left with lasting physical and psychological trauma.
The book centers on the groundbreaking 1991 testimony of one comfort woman named Kim Hak-soon, whose courage inspired other survivors to speak out after decades of silence. Compiled by the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues, the narratives of nineteen survivors are presented in translation, revealing not only the atrocities they suffered but also their ongoing struggle for justice. This work is more than a historical record; it is a call to action, preserving these voices and demanding genuine acknowledgment, apology, and reparations from the Japanese government.
About the Editor:
Sangmie Choi Schellstede is the editor of Comfort Women Speak: Testimony by Sex Slaves of the Japanese Military (2000), a pivotal collection featuring first-hand survivor accounts alongside United Nations human rights documentation. Her work played an essential role in bringing these testimonies to global attention and raising awareness, providing vital primary sources that have become foundational in both academic research and advocacy related to the “comfort women” issue.