FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Women Cross DMZ, info@womencrossdmz.org
On International Women’s Day, over 100 prominent global women leaders and organizations have sent a letter calling on the U.S. Congress to pursue accountability measures and redress for Korean women survivors of the U.S. militarized sex trade.
The letter, signed by leading directors of women’s rights organizations, peacebuilders, scholars and experts from across the globe, urges the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, to hold the U.S. Forces Korea accountable for their role in gender-based human rights abuses inflicted at U.S. military camptowns and other areas in the Republic of Korea from the 1950s to 2010s – including trafficking, prostitution, forcible detention for purposes of administration of STI treatments.
“History has long shown that war and militarism harm women and girls disproportionately,” stated Cathi Choi, Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ. “Korean women have borne the costs of more than seven decades of the ongoing Korean War. As women in the U.S. and across the globe, we are proud to stand with the courageous survivors and advocates to call on our government to pursue measures for accountability, redress, and justice.”
“War and militarism are bad enough without human rights abuses, gender-based violence, and sex trafficking committed and facilitated by one’s own allies,” stated Ji-Yeon Yuh, Associate Professor, Northwestern University. “As women in the United States, we stand in solidarity with the survivors of these horrors, and we call on our government to be a true ally to South Korea by pursuing redress for any and all harms inflicted by the USFK on women in South Korea.”
“As a retired United States Army colonel and U.S. State Department official, I have seen firsthand the human rights abuses that result from U.S. militarism and military bases abroad,” stated Ann Wright, Veterans for Peace. “We show our solidarity with the Korean women survivors, whose case is not only a fight for them but justice for all victims of U.S. militarism’s effects.”
The Honorable Roger F. Wicker
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
425 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Need for Investigation; Records Release; and Public Hearings on U.S. Military Human Rights Abuses in South Korea
March 9, 2026
Dear Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Reed:
We, the undersigned, are global women leaders united in our solidarity and support of the Korean women survivors of U.S. militarized sex trade. On International Women’s Day, we are writing to you as peace leaders to express our vested personal interest in seeing these women obtain justice.
We urge you as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, to hold the U.S. Forces Korea (U.S.F.K) accountable for their role in gender-based human rights abuses inflicted at U.S. military camptowns and bases in the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.). In a recent lawsuit filed in 2025,1 the U.S.F.K. are identified as enablers and perpetrators of sexual violence in the R.O.K. during the 1950s–2010s.2 The U.S.F.K. is also accused of overseeing detention facilities located at U.S. military base camptowns in which the women were subjected to severely coercive measures related to actual or presumed sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This lawsuit is a follow-on to a 2022 South Korean Supreme Court ruling which found that the R.O.K. government, in the process of operating and managing military camptowns, justified and encouraged prostitution of the plaintiffs who were “comfort women” for the U.S.F.K. and illegally incarcerated them to “help South Korea maintain its military alliance with the United States and earn American dollars.”3
In September 2025, a group of survivors of camptown sexual violence in South Korea filed the first-ever lawsuit targeting the U.S. military,4 presenting deeply concerning and grave allegations about the U.S.F.K.’s role in South Korea. It contends that the U.S. military was involved in encouraging, abetting, or at least acquiescing to the visits of U.S. service members to brothels where women and girls were held against their will as “comfort women.” The context of the charges are that: the women were indoctrinated into a system of sexual slavery for U.S. service members,5 subjected to weekly STI tests, and incarcerated in STI disease control facilities run by the U.S. and R.O.K. governments6 that resembled prisons and forcibly injected with high-doses of penicillin, which was only available in the R.O.K. through U.S. imports. These allegations implicate the U.S. military and government in serious violations of human rights, international law, and enduring moral responsibilities tied to U.S. military presence abroad.
Studies have long shown that in war and militarism, women are disproportionately harmed and sustain severe human rights abuses.7 For decades in South Korea, military camptowns surrounding U.S. bases have been the site of harm and human rights abuses against Korean women. This is yet another chapter in the long history of the disproportionate impact and harm sustained by women in Korea as a result of U.S. militarism.
It is essential for the U.S.F.K. and U.S. government to show transparency and accountability, and engage with the allegations appropriately. This moment presents an opportunity for the United States to deliver justice to survivors and engage in redress and accountability.8
We are therefore urging that the Senate Armed Services Committee do the following:
- Request that the Government Accountability Office and/or Department of Defense Inspector General –
- undertake a document and archival review of U.S. military, Department of Defense, and interagency records relating to prostitution regulation, STI control, and camptown oversight around U.S. bases in Korea during the 1950s–2010s;
- release all records relating to prostitution regulation, STI control, and camptown oversight around U.S. bases in Korea during the 1950s–2010s;
- report on whether they have initiated any investigation of this matter, and whether any compensatory and redress measures are being considered;
- if no investigation has been initiated, to undertake such an investigation and recommend compensatory steps to be taken to redress historic wrongs relating to prostitution regulation, STI control, and camptown oversight around U.S. bases in Korea during the 1950s–2010s.
- Hold a public hearing on this matter and the results of the review and investigation by the Government Accountability Office and/or Department of Defense Inspector General.
We understand the sensitivity of these issues and the importance of preserving the U.S.–R.O.K alliance. However, moral clarity, transparency, and justice for survivors are essential to upholding core U.S. values and maintaining global leadership on human rights.
As advocates committed to democratic ideals and gender-based justice we welcome the opportunity to schedule a meeting with each of you to discuss this important topic.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to your response. Please do not hesitate to contact Cathi Choi at cathi@womencrossdmz.org with any questions.
cc: All Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee
Sincerely,
- Ahn-Kim Jeong-Ae, Women Making Peace
- Aiyoung Choi, Women Cross DMZ
- Alejandra Rodriguez, Colectiva Olga Castillo
- Alma Bulawan, Buklod Women Empowerment
- Amelia Wu, Ibis Reproductive Health
- Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, Woman Health Philippines
- Anasuya Sengupta, Executive Director, Whose Knowledge, UK
- Ane Mathieson, Mathieson Consulting
- Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace
- Anna Kerr, Feminist Legal Clinic Inc.
- Anuradha Mittal, The Oakland Institute
- Autumn Rene Burris, Survivors for Solutions, Founding Director
- Bridget Moix, Friends Committee on National Legislation
- Caroline Norma, Kaishun Shakai o Kangaeru Kai
- Cassandra Chee, Women’s Voices Women Speak
- Cat Yang, GYOPO
- Cathi Choi, Women Cross DMZ
- Christine Ahn, Institute for Policy Studies
- Christine Y. Kim, GYOPO
- Cindy Wiesner , Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
- Clydie Pasia, Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality
- Colleen Moore, The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
- Corazon Valdez Fabros, International Peace Bureau
- Crystal Baik, UC Riverside
- Cynthia Lazaroff, Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy
- Danae Hendrickson, Legacies of War
- Daru Wibowo, Puan Menulis
- Deann Liem, Mu Films
- Dena Al-Adeeb, Independent Scholar-Activist
- Diana Ohlbaum, Board Chair, Center for International Policy
- Dianne Post, CPIC NOW #040
- Don Mee Choi, International Women’s Network Against Militarism
- Donna M. Hughes, Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
- Dorchen A. Leidholdt, New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition
- Drisha Fernandes, The Beehive
- Elisa L. Ebrole, Buklod Women Empowerment
- Eunice Kwon, Women Cross DMZ
- 김은지 (“Eunji Kim”), 경기여성연대 (“Gyeonggi Women’s Coalition”)
- Fatema Ahmad, Muslim Justice League
- Dr. Gail Dines, Culture Reframed
- Giorgia Piantanida, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
- Gloria Steinem, Activist and Author
- Grace Cho, Author
- Grizelda Grootboom, Survivor Exit Foundation, Founder
- Gwyn Kirk, Women for Genuine Security
- Halema Wali, Afghans For A Better Tomorrow
- 최희신 (Choi Hee Shin), 활동가 (Activist)
- Héma Sibi, Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution (CAP Int’l)
- Hosu Kim, College of Staten Island
- Dr. Ingeborg Kraus, Trauma and Prostitution / Karlsruhe gegen Sexkauf
- Isabella Vargas, Colectiva Olga Castillo
- Janica Rosales, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP)
- Jassy Santos, PLU
- Jean Enriquez, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP)
- Jennifer Deibert, American Friends Service Committee
- Jess Baker, Women for Genuine Security
- Ji Hye Kim, KAN-WIN
- Ji-Yeon Yuh, Northwestern University
- Jinah Kim, University of California, Merced
- Joyce Muchan, All Voices International, Founder
- Judy Kluger, Sanctuary for Families, CEO
- Julie Karcis, Individual
- Julie Moon, Cate School
- Kaia Vereide, Gangjeong International Team
- Kate Alexander, MADRE
- Kavita N. Ramdas, KNR Sisters
- Kelly Denn Tomas, Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality
- Koohan Paik-Mander, Author
- Lara Kiswani, Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)
- Leah Hong, Women Cross DMZ
- Leslie Harris, Veterans For Peace, CODEPINK
- Lily Abella Mocles, Women Initiative for Social Empowerment
- Linda Low, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
- Lisa Natividad, I Hagan Famalao’an Guåhan
- Liz Remmerswaal, World Beyond War Aotearoa New Zealand
- Liza Gonzales, Bagong Kamalayan Survivors Collective
- Lori Cohen, Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT), CEO
- Madeleine Han, Yale University
- Makanalani Gomes, Af3irm Hawaii, Missing Murdered Native Hawaiian Women, Girls, Mahi Report
- Dr. Marie Berry, IGLI, University of Denver
- Margo Okazawa-Rey, Women for Genuine Security, IWNAM, San Francisco State University
- Marianne Ibo, Safe Spaces Movement
- Mariya Dmytriyeva, Democracy Development Center
- Martha Matsuoka, Women for Genuine Security
- Mary Ann Manahan, Ghent University
- Minette Joyce Mercado, Safe Spaces CNU
- Miyoko Pettit-Toledo, University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
- Mufida Atmadja, KomPPas, Founder
- Namhee Lee, UCLA
- Nana Mallet, Founder, End Demand Switzerland
- Nanette Orly, GYOPO
- Nataly Jung-Hwa Hanl Korea Verband e.V.
- Nayoung Lee, Chung-Ang University
- Olga Persson, Unizon, President
- Patricia Cooper, Individual
- Priya Moran, Friends Committee on National Legislation
- Rebekah Anne Macarasig, Safe Spaces Movement
- Sally E. Jones, Peace Action Fund of New York State
- Sam Ikehara, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Okinawa Alliance
- Sammie Moshenberg
- Sharon Cabusao-Silva, Lila Pilipina
- Shayna Lewis, Win Without War
- Sinmin Pak, Unforgotten Butterflies
- Stacy Nam, Mennonite Central Committee
- Susan Schnall, Veterans For Peace
- Suzy Kim, Rutgers University, Women Cross DMZ
- Taina Bien-Aimé, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
- Dr. Tegan Larin, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia (CATWA)
- Toni Van Pelt, West Pinellas, National Organization for Women, Inc.
- Virginia Lacsa Suarez, Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan (Kaisa Ka)
- Wendi Deetz, Women Cross DMZ, Former Board Member
- Yaroslava Muravetska, Feminism UA
- Yasmin Vafa, Rights4Girls
- Yel Tampus, Safe Spaces Movement
- Yoon Ju Ellie Lee, GYOPO
- Youngmi Cho, Sejong Cyber University
- Yuliia Dorokhova, All-Ukrainian League Legalife
Note: Organizations/Affiliations Listed Only for Identification Purposes.
Organizational Signatories
- BAYAN USA
- End Demand Switzerland
- Friends Committee on National Legislation
- GABRIELA – USA
- Hawaiʻi Aunties for Genuine Security
- International Women’s Alliance – US
- International Women’s Network Against Militarism
- KAISA KA
- MADRE
- National Organization for Women – Ohio
- National Organization for Women – Springfield Illinois
- National Organization for Women – West Pinellas
- Socialista Inc.
- The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
- Veterans For Peace
- Women Cross DMZ
- Women for Genuine Security
- Women for Peace – Finland
- Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom US
- World Beyond War Aotearoa New Zealand
Footnotes:
