No Longer Silenced!
A Review of Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK’s First Special Exhibition on Wartime Violence

#1. Imperial Wars, Ways of Remembering
_Hye-in Han

“We have received the email regarding the UNESCO Memory of the World Register sent on March 30. […] After discussing with our colleagues, Imperial War Museums is pleased to support your proposal to nominate the “Comfort Women” records for inclusion in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Please let us know if there is anything further we can do to demonstrate our support.”

On April 5, 2016, when the International Committee for Joint Nomination of Documents on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to UNESCO Memory of the World Register requested cooperation, Imperial War Museums (IWM) responded with the above statement of support and solidarity, actively participating not only as an endorsing institution but also as a joint nominating institution. As a result, approximately 30 materials held by IWM, including photographs of “Comfort Women” victims from the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries in its collection, were included in the nomination list for Voices of “Comfort Women.”

A Vast War Archive Exhibition in Collaboration with Women’s Organizations Standing with Survivors of Sexual Violence

As Bryn Hammond—the museum’s Principal Curator, Collections—notes, IWM is often referred to as a “museum of films,” holding the world’s largest archive of war-related footage. The museum houses a wide range of records from conflicts spanning the 19th to the 21st centuries. In the main galleries, visitors can view striking artifacts, including a Japanese kamikaze aircraft captured by British forces during World War II and a Japanese flag inscribed with a pledge of loyalty [to the emperor]. The archives are particularly notable for preserving photographs and films related to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women,” along with testimonies from Allied soldiers—including the British—regarding these women, as well as other records documenting atrocities committed by Japanese forces. These include accounts of the brutal treatment and abuse suffered by British soldiers taken prisoner by the Japanese military, testimonies about Korean “Comfort Women” who were forcibly mobilized and subjected to harsh conditions, and records documenting the victimization of Chinese and other Asian women under the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” system.

This year, IWM is presenting a landmark exhibition titled Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict. According to IWM, the exhibition—six years in the making—is significant above all because it places conflict-related sexual violence, an issue long under-addressed, at the very center of its focus. To be sure, IWM has consistently organized exhibitions and educational programs highlighting the violence of war from the perspective of non-combatant civilians, including women and children, and has addressed the Holocaust in depth. Yet for many years, the museum was relatively inactive in collecting documentation on conflict-related sexual violence, and survivors’ accounts were often treated as marginal.

Reflecting this critical awareness, the Unsilenced exhibition is composed of representative artifacts and records that symbolically reveal the long history of “silence.” Running from May 23 to November 2, 2025, the exhibition also stands out for its collaboration with organizations that have stood in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence, including the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum in South Korea, and Japan’s Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM), while drawing on IWM’s vast war archives. Taken together, these efforts demonstrate IWM’s commitment to addressing conflict-related sexual violence not as a matter confined to the past, but as a serious and ongoing issue.

The Voices of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Emerging from the Heart of Empire

The Unsilenced exhibition also presents a substantial collection of records documenting activism related to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women.” Notable examples include the translated version of the testimony of the late Kim Bok-dong, as well as leaflets and placards from the Wednesday Demonstrations in Korea. Additionally, a poster created by North Korea for the “2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery” (hereinafter referred to as the 2000 Women’s Tribunal) is featured prominently as one of the exhibition’s main visuals. The inclusion of the poster in the list was made possible by a proposal from the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family, submitted in the course of the joint nomination to UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

The voices of women who have long suffered from the brutal violence and lasting trauma caused by imperial wars and power-driven conflicts are now echoing once again in London, once the heart of an empire that sought to dominate the world. It is our hope that the Unsilenced exhibition will serve as a platform for the global community to share its commitment to accompanying women—once victims—on their journey to reclaim their own stories and to stand as agents of memory.

2. Challenging Established Notions with Survivor-Centered Narratives
_Nikolai Johnsen

I visited the Unsilenced exhibition on June 10, 2025. Upon entering the gallery, following the sign at the entrance, visitors are first greeted by a video. What is it about? Listening attentively, it becomes clear that the video explored how sexual violence in various conflict situations has been defined and framed, and how society has marginalized the experiences of survivors. The video features five distinguished experts: Charu Lata Hogg, Founder and Executive Director of All Survivors Project^[1]; Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent at The Sunday Times, the Sunday edition of the British newspaper The Times; Dr. Paul Kirby, Lecturer in International Politics at Queen Mary University of London; Sarah Sands, former Chair of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council; and Dr. Zeynep Kaya, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield. Following the emphasis that sexual violence is not an “inevitable” phenomenon but an issue that requires social and international attention, their discussion moves on to the importance of listening to victims’ voices and the pursuit of justice. This discussion embodies the values the exhibition seeks to convey.

From World Wars I and II to the Yazidi Genocide and the Russia-Ukraine War: Sexual Violence Was Ubiquitous!

The main section of the exhibition explores major historical conflicts that resulted in mass casualties. In addition to World Wars I and II, it covers the Gulf War, the Iraq War (including the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison), the Bosnian War, the Yazidi genocide perpetrated by ISIS, the Russia-Ukraine War, conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, described as the Gaza conflict. Notably, the 1914 German invasion of Belgium, the Japanese Empire’s mobilization of “Comfort Women” during World War II, and the 2014 Yazidi genocide are emphasized as key case studies.

The exhibition also sheds light, from various perspectives, on the countless perpetrators and victims of sexual violence across these conflicts—a violence that continues to this day. In 1945, women in defeated Germany were subjected to rape not only by the Soviet Red Army but also by British, French, and American forces. Women in Allied nations also faced sexual humiliation and social punishment. Across Europe, including in France, thousands of women were publicly assaulted, had their heads forcibly shaved, and were paraded through the streets on accusations of “sexual collaboration” with German soldiers.

Numerous examples illustrate how military culture and propaganda, within the prevailing sociocultural context, served as mechanisms to reinforce gender roles and exacerbate inequalities. For instance, during World War II, U.S. military guidebooks portrayed Japanese society as considering prostitution an “honorable profession,” thereby justifying the sexual objectification of women, even though many women in Japanese brothels had been “sold” by their parents. A similar pattern can be found in British posters produced during the same period. These posters, which promoted free and confidential treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) alongside warnings such as “Passing an STD to your wife is a crime against her and your future children,” reveal an attitude that implicitly condoned or overlooked soldiers’ sexual relationships with local women in war zones while explicitly problematizing only the negative consequences of STDs from those relationships.

The exhibition also introduces Britain’s Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864, which reflected this dual attitude. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, military authorities regarded prostitution as a “necessary evil” to maintain soldiers’ morale. At the same time, fearing the impact of STDs on soldiers’ ability to fight, they forced women suspected of prostitution to undergo compulsory medical examinations and confined them in “lock hospitals.” In contrast, men were held accountable only if they were diagnosed with an STD. The effectiveness of the Acts remained “questionable,” and they are reported to have eventually been repealed in 1886.

The exhibition also presents the case of children born of sexual violence during the Bosnian War (1992–1995), who were finally recognized as civilian victims in 2022 after years of painstaking efforts. It also references the severe torture and human rights violations committed by U.S. and British forces at the Abu Ghraib prison during the 2003 Iraq War. These cases illustrate that conflict-related sexual violence affects people across genders and generations.

The Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue: A War Crime Remembered by Survivors and Society Together

One of the defining features of Unsilenced is its thematic categorization, focusing on topics such as “Structures and Representations,” “Acts and Manifestations,” and “Justice and Reconciliation,” instead of following a regional or chronological arrangement. This approach emphasizes that sexual violence is a global issue, rather than condemning specific states or incidents. By presenting cases side by side within universal categories, the exhibition avoids politicizing particular incidents or distorting content based on national perspectives. This effectively reveals its primary intent: a firm opposition to the justification of sexual violence in any conflict or dispute.

Among these, the “Activism and Protest” section, which focuses on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” system widely perpetrated by the Japanese Empire during World War II, was particularly striking. This is because it represents a case where, despite the passage of many decades, survivors and civil society have continued to persist in their efforts to uncover the truth and resolve the issue. The exhibition features a wide range of records: documents related to Japan’s licensed prostitution system as part of the background for the extensive mobilization of “Comfort Women”; the Statue of Peace; a translated testimony of the late Kim Bok-dong; signs and passes from Japanese military “comfort stations”; photographs taken by British forces; leaflets and picket signs from the weekly Wednesday Demonstrations; and a miniature Statue of Peace. These materials were provided by civic groups in South Korea and Japan, including the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, the War and Women’s Human Rights Archives, and WAM, in collaboration with IWM.

A North Korean poster depicting women of various races standing in solidarity against sexual violence is also noteworthy. While general international visitors may not immediately recognize the poster’s North Korean origin without carefully reading the brief explanatory text, it is likely to spark “intense” interest among those familiar with the Korean Peninsula’s situation. Produced by the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang to promote the “2000 Women’s Tribunal” held in Tokyo, the poster aligns with the exhibition’s aim to encompass diverse regions and ethnicities. However, the exhibition’s narrative does not specifically mention the nationalities of victims other than South Korea, nor does it address the complex historical reckoning stemming from the political tensions between South Korea, North Korea, and Japan. Materials related to the 2000 Women’s Tribunal and other trials are also limited, making it regrettably difficult to gain a broad understanding of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue across Asia within its historical and regional context.

Meanwhile, the exhibition guide includes 12 terms related to sexual violence, such as sexual humiliation, agency, and restitution. Terms specific to the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” include “Comfort Women,” “Halmoni” (grandmother), and “Comfort Women Corps.” However, the term “Comfort Women Corps” is defined as “the system by which the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces organized and managed the so-called ‘Comfort Women.’” This likely corresponds to the Japanese term “Women’s Volunteer Corps,” but it seems to diverge from the intended explanation. Additionally, the exhibition lacks terms referring to other systems of wartime sexual violence or victims, aside from “Comfort Women,” giving the impression that the narrative surrounding the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” is the central focus of the exhibition.

Toward a Permanent Exhibition of Unsilenced to Raise Global Awareness about Sexual Violence!

Unsilenced, an exhibition that presents global conflict cases and survivor-centered narratives, challenges the prevailing notion that sexual violence in conflict is inevitable. Although sexual violence continues to occur in conflicts, this exhibition serves as an “introductory” exhibit for fostering a shared understanding that sexual violence is no longer an unavoidable byproduct of war but a preventable and punishable crime under international law.

While the exhibition may lack detailed information on certain conflicts, it deserves recognition for addressing controversial or ongoing conflicts without avoidance. This underscores the importance of taking a multidimensional approach to issues such as the “Comfort Women,” which involves victims of diverse nationalities and intertwined political interests depending on national circumstances, in order to gain a deeper and more profound understanding of the issue’s core. To this end, how about incorporating Unsilenced into the IWM’s permanent collection? It would undoubtedly heighten international awareness and strengthen the global response to sexual violence in conflict.

#3. Imperial War Museums

Upon visiting IWM London in Lambeth, England, the first sight to greet visitors is a pair of massive cannons pointing skyward, as if flaunting the former grandeur of the British Empire. These impressive 15-inch guns, originally mounted on British Royal Navy battleships during World War I, were actually used in multiple battles, including the devastating 1915 Battle of Gallipoli, where Allied casualties alone reached 250,000. While they symbolize Britain’s naval power in the battleship era, these cannons also evoke the tragedy and failure of war, posing a poignant question about how such conflicts should be remembered and understood.

The museum visible behind the cannons was established on March 5, 1917, in the midst of World War I, with the aim of “ensuring the nation remembers and understands the full scope of the war.” Its mission was not merely to commemorate military victories, but to preserve the experiences of both soldiers and civilians and to document the realities of war from multiple perspectives. At the time of its founding, however, the museum did not yet have a permanent building and operated primarily through records and temporary exhibitions.

In 1936, IWM moved to its current location in Lambeth, London, securing a permanent building and expanding its exhibitions to World War II and contemporary international conflicts. During the 1970s and 1980s, it shifted its focus from traditional military-centered exhibitions to those encompassing “war and society.” Since the 1990s, the museum has addressed comprehensive themes such as the Holocaust, refugees, war memory, and human rights, strengthening its engagement with global social issues.

As its plural name suggests, Imperial War Museums currently encompasses five museums. These include IWM London in Lambeth, representing the institution; IWM North in Manchester; IWM Duxford in Cambridgeshire, an aviation-focused museum; HMS Belfast, a warship museum moored on the River Thames; and the Churchill War Rooms, Winston Churchill’s wartime command bunker in central London.

IWM is also highly active in educational and research activities, continuously operating school-linked learning programs, history education, human rights education through its dedicated Holocaust education department, as well as oral history and record conservation projects. The museum is also involved in broader social participation activities, approaching war from a “non-combat civilian perspective” that focuses on the experiences of women, children, refugees, and post-war recovery. Its commitment to international solidarity is further demonstrated by its active involvement in projects such as the joint nomination of documents on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict is on display at IWM until November 3. For additional information about the exhibition, please scan the QR code below. Content advisory: This exhibition deals with sexual violence in conflict and contains explicit depictions of massacres, abuse, and other forms of violence. Viewer discretion is advised – recommended for audiences aged 16 and older.