Comfort Woman : a Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under ...

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Introduction
road by a small group of Japanese soldiers—as in the case of Maria
Rosa Henson—and taken to a Japanese garrison nearby, where they
were raped day after day. The duration of captivity was usually between
one and several months. In a few cases, victims were confi ned for up to
two years. In most cases, the premises where they were confi ned were
part of the garrison compound or right next to it. They were guarded
by Japanese soldiers twenty-four hours a day, which provided very little
chance of escape. This was quite different from the typical comfort station
in other parts of Asia, which in most cases was a facility completely
separate from the barracks and managed by a Japanese or Korean civilian
proprietor under the supervision of the military authorities.
In the Philippines, it seems that the usual practice was that about
ten young women or girls were held by each small company-sized
army unit for the exclusive exploitation of that unit. Most commonly, a
victim was raped by fi ve to ten soldiers every day. None of the victims
was ever paid; some were forced to cook and wash for the Japanese
soldiers during the day then provide sexual services at night.
Another distinctive feature of “comfort women” in the Philippines
is that they became victims of military sexual violence at very young
ages. The average age in the comfort stations for which we have information
is 17.6 years. Many were younger than 15 years, and one was
as young as 10 years. Naturally, the younger girls had not yet begun
to menstruate. An explanation for why the Japanese victimized such
young girls will require further investigation.
Continuous rape in captivity was undoubtedly a tormenting experience
for these women, but tragically some of these girls had had
to endure the additional horror of witnessing the murder of their own
parents and siblings by the Japanese at the time of their abduction.
For example, one night in 1942, two Japanese soldiers invaded the
home of thirteen-year-old Tomasa Salinog and her father in Antique
on Panay Island. As two soldiers intruded, another two stayed outside
on watch. Tomasa’s father resisted the soldiers as they tried to take the
child away. One of the Japanese, Captain Hirooka, suddenly drew his
sword and severed the father’s head. The Japanese soldiers dragged
Tomasa out of the house, as she screamed at the sight of her father’s