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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, During the Japanese colonial and wartime
3expansion of Asia and the Pacific Islands from 1932 through the
4duration of World War II, approximately 200,000 women and girls
5were coerced into a system of forced military prostitution; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used by
7the Japanese government to describe women and girls forced into
8sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military at camps,
9known as "comfort stations"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The majority of "comfort women" were of Korean or
11Chinese descent, but women from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia,
12Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, and the Netherlands were
13also interned in military camps run directly by the Imperial
14Japanese military or private agents working for the military;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Some of the women were sold to these military
17camps as minors, others were deceptively recruited by middlemen
18with the promise of employment and financial security, and
19still others were forcibly kidnapped and forced to become
20"sexual slaves" for soldiers stationed throughout the Japanese
21occupied territories; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Approximately three-quarters of the "comfort
2women" have died as a direct result of the brutality inflicted
3on them during their internment; some of those who survived
4were left infertile due to sexual violence or sexually
5transmitted diseases and many are now dying without an official
6acknowledgement or apology by the Japanese government of the
7suffering they endured during their forced internment in
8military comfort stations; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The stories of the "comfort women" are an
10essential part of the history of human trafficking; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The United Nations reports that 2.4 million people
12across the globe are victims of human trafficking at any one
13time, and 80 percent of them are being exploited as sexual
14slaves; and
 
15    WHEREAS, At least 16,000 women and girls are involved in
16the sex trade every year in Chicago, many of whom are victims
17of human trafficking; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois stands against human
19trafficking in all its forms, as evidenced by the 2005
20formation of the Illinois Rescue and Restore Coalition, a
21partnership between the Illinois Department of Human Services
22and the federal government to combat labor and sex trafficking

 

 

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1in Illinois; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois further showed its
3commitment to fighting human trafficking when this year the
4Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 2640, which
5creates a process for trafficking victims to receive financial
6assistance to remove "trafficking tattoos" that traffickers
7often use to brand their victims as their property; and
 
8    WHEREAS, It is fitting for this House to support H.R. 121
9passed by the United States House of Representatives that
10called upon the Japanese government to accept historical
11responsibility for the sexual enslavement of "comfort women" by
12the Imperial Japanese Army and educate future generations about
13these crimes; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That
16we recognize and support "comfort women" by acknowledging as
17historical fact the suffering they endured during their forced
18internment in Japanese military comfort stations; and be it
19further
 
20    RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinois educators to share with
21students of an appropriate age the story of "comfort women"
22when discussing the history of Asia or World War II, or the

 

 

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1issue of human trafficking; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That we further commit to exploring ways to
3develop an Asian American social science and history curriculum
4for public schools that would provide one centralized structure
5the shared history of events, such as the story of "comfort
6women" or the forced incarceration of Japanese-Americans
7during World War II, along with many other examples of Asian
8American experiences in the United States; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our commitment to ending all
10forms of violence and trafficking of women in the State of
11Illinois; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
13presented to the executive directors of the Korean American
14Resource & Cultural Center, Korean American Voter Organizing
15Initiative & Community Empowerment, Korean American Women in
16Need, the Japanese American Service Committee, the Cambodian
17Association of Illinois, and Asian Americans Advancing
18Justice-Chicago.