Remembering the System: Enforced Prostitution by the Japanese Military in Indonesia

Realms of Memory

During the Asia-Pacific War the Japanese military forced thousands of women across East and Southeast Asia into a brutal system of organized prostitution. The label of “comfort women” only masks the true reality of this massive human rights crime that went largely unpunished for decades after the war. Most attention to this history has focused on Korea and Japan where the movement for redress began earliest. Find out how the struggle for recognition and redress unfolded in Indonesia on the January 2nd episode of the Realms of Memory podcast. Listen to University of Melbourne historian Kate McGregor, author of Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory, and Sexual Violence in Indonesia.