Narratives of the 'Comfort Women' System Survivors: Individual Memories to Redress the Past and Change the Future
Author
Fontanet Clarisso, Airina
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-05-31
Abstract
This thesis examines how survivors of the so-called ‘comfort women’ system during World War II narrate their experiences and propose paths to redress. Aiming both to raise international awareness and to critically probe these narratives, the study asks: How do survivors recount their traumatic pasts and articulate possible forms of redress? Using narrative analysis of secondary sources—interviews, documentaries, and reports—it identifies themes across life before, during, and after captivity, and explores narratives about the Japanese people and government as well as about ‘apology’ and ‘reparations/compensation’. The analysis is informed by theories of individual and collective memory, transitional justice with an emphasis on reparative justice, and intersectionality. Findings suggest that survivors’ suffering arises not only from past abuses but also from social norms and beliefs about rape within their own societies. The results further indicate that a reparative approach aligns best with survivors’ demands and could help shift Japan’s national collective memory of the war, although achieving this remains a distant goal.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan overlevende fra det såkaldte ‘comfort women’-system under Anden Verdenskrig fortæller om deres erfaringer og foreslår veje til oprejsning. Med udgangspunkt i et ønske om at skabe international opmærksomhed og samtidig kritisk afprøve de fremførte fortællinger, stiller studiet spørgsmålet: Hvordan narrerer overleverne deres traumatiske fortid, og hvordan formulerer de mulige former for redress? Undersøgelsen anvender narrativ analyse af sekundære kilder—bl.a. interviews, dokumentarer og rapporter—til at identificere gennemgående temaer i beretninger før, under og efter fangenskab, samt i fortællinger om det japanske folk og regering og om begreberne ‘undskyldning’ og ‘reparation/kompensation’. Teoretisk trækker studiet på individuelle og kollektive erindringer, overgangsretfærdighed med fokus på reparativ retfærdighed samt intersektionalitet. Analysen peger på, at overlevernes lidelser ikke kun udspringer af de oprindelige overgreb, men også af sociale normer og forestillinger om voldtægt i deres egne samfund. Resultaterne indikerer desuden, at en reparativ tilgang bedst matcher overlevernes krav og kan bidrage til at ændre Japans kollektive erindring om krigen—selv om dette mål endnu er langt fra opfyldt.
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