WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 16: Former 'comfort women,'
Jan Ruff O'Herne, 83, (L) and
Yong Soo Lee, 78, embrace after a news conference at the office of Amnesty International February 16, 2007 in Washington, DC. There were and estimated 200,000 so-called 'comfort women' who were sexually enslaved by the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. The women have worked since 1945 'to hold the Japanese government accountable for the Japanese military's actions in World War II.'
Jan Ruff O'Herne, born in what is now Indonesia, was imprisoned by the Japanese military when she was 21-years-old in 1942. Separated from her family, O'Herne was taken to a 'comfort station' where she was abused, beaten and raped day after day for three months. Yong was kidnapped in her home country of Korea by the Japanese at the age of 14 and taken to a ship where she was beaten, tortured and raped. Her imprisonment lasted two years during which time she was given a Japanese name. The women are now seeking an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.