UsTooNK This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, with the exception of all photos and graphics. You may copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt this publication, except for its photos and graphics, provided that you attribute the work to the Korea Future Initiative and its author and it is used for non-commercial, educational, or public policy purposes. Korea Future Initiative welcomes requests for permission to translate this publication, in part or in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the contact information found on the website. The full licence terms are available from: Recommended citation Burt, J. (2018). Us Too: Sexual Violence Against North Korean Women and Girls. London: Korea Future Initiative. Published by Korea Future Initiative, London, United Kingdom. Author James Burt Research Assistants Jaeyoung Wee; Nah-Yeon Kim; Heejin Choi; Young Sun Song; Nayoung Ahn; Sohyeon Song; Suyeon Yoo; Mira Shin; Younghoon Jo. Designed by Alex Howell Cover Photograph Songdowon International Children s Union Camp. Wŏnsan, North Korea by Stephan. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Available at
In September 2015, the Japanese government announced its first national action plan (NAP) to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325, just ten days after forcefully legislating controversial security bills that would effectively lift the constitutional restrictions on overseas exercise of military force. Why did the conservative administration embrace Resolution 1325 while propelling militarization? This paper examines the formulation process of Japan’s NAP, focusing on gendered struggle over remilitarization and war memory, especially that of the “comfort women,” or Japanese imperial military sexual slavery during World War II. I will examine how post–Cold War remilitarization in Japan was closely intertwined with the struggle over war memory and the gender order of the nation, and how the conservative administration embraced international gender equality norms in an attempt to identify itself as a powerful liberal democracy engaged in maintaining the international security order, and to erase the memory of imperial military sexual violence in the past.
Betsy Kawamura, founder of Women4NonViolence https://www.w4nv.com dialogues with Dr. Henrik Syse of PRIO and co-editor of “Journal of Military Ethics” about Women Peace and Security (WPS) in North Asia (Okinawa, Japan and the Korean Peninsula). Topics include the Battle of Okinawa, North Korean refugee women, the Status of Force Agreement SOFA, the Recreation and Amusement Association https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreat…. Bkawamura10@hotmail.com
Henrik Syse, PhD Research Professor, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) / Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Björknes University College / Editor, Journal of Military Ethics /Freelance lecturer / Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee 2015 – 2020 Email: Syse@Prio.org Journal of Military Ethics: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1…
Below are the basic questions asked by Dr. Syse in this dialog
(1) You are truly engaged with the WPS agenda, not least wishing to expand consciousness about that agenda in North-East Asia. Why? Where does your engagement come from?
(2) You are preoccupied with history, and you tell me that some articles from the Journal of Military Ethics, which I co-edit, including one on war crimes at Okinawa during and
after WW II, have been important to you. What’s the importance of history in addressing WPS concerns today?
(3) You want to reach out to military audiences. Do you think there is enough attention to sexualized violence and WPS more broadly among military personnel today? If not, what can be done to rectify that?
(4) Looking at your own path ahead, as an activist and as someone who knows this terrain well, what do you think are the most important next steps? And who do you need to work with in order to realize those steps?
In many ways, researching violence against women is similar to researching other sensitive topics. There are issues of confidentiality, problems of disclosure, and the need to ensure adequate and informed consent. As the previous quote from an interviewer illustrates, however, there are aspects of gender-based violence research that transcend those in other areas becauseof the potentially threatening and traumatic nature of the subject matter. In the case of violence, the safety and even the lives of women respondents and interviewers may be at risk .
These guidelines reflect the insights of practitioners from different geographic regions, disciplines and sectors, and reflect an emerging consensus on good practice among practitioners. The core idea behind them is that, in the early phase of an emergency, social supports are essential to protect and support mental health and psychosocial well-being. In addition, the guidelines recommend selected psychological and psychiatric interventions for specific problems. The guidelines include key activities for the campaign such as advocacy events, developing plans of action, coordination tools and checklist to identify gaps. It also includes key messages and ideas for implementation to communities, governments, donors, UN organizations and NGOs. The guidelines is translated to 14 differe3nt languages and can be used as:
1) A guide for programme planning and design
2) Advocacy for better practice
3) Resource for interventions or actions
4) A coordinating tool
5) Checklist to identify gaps
The objective of this article was to conduct a systematic review of long-term follow-up studies on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children and adolescents. The MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched from 1980 through January 2014. Studies that examined PTSD symptoms in children for over three years after mass natural disasters were selected. Ten studies, including four cohort studies, four cross-sectional studies, one descriptive study, and one case-series study following disaster-exposed children, met all the selection criteria and thus were included in this review. The follow-up period ranged from three to 20 years after the disasters (21 pages, pdf).
Assistance in “complex humanitarian emergencies” has remained largely unchanged or unchallenged since the end of World War II. One dilemma for international policy makers is that they do not have a scientific methodology for assessing the cultural, political, and social meanings of trauma in the lives of civilian populations and how these traumatic experiences alter the everyday lives of the affected individuals.
It is hoped that this research will act as a first step towards a better understanding of what survivors want and expect from reparation. This in turn will help to make the services offered as effective as possible. The survey details what research has already been undertaken in this area and identifies gaps in that research, with a view to determining the needs for additional courses of action.