Stintino, Sardinia – For the first time in Italy, a statue symbolizing the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, referred to euphemistically as “comfort women,” has been erected. Unveiled on Stintino Beach, Sardinia, this statue joins a growing number of monuments worldwide dedicated to remembering these victims.
According to Philippines News Agency, the unveiling occurred on Saturday, and the site was selected for its accessibility and visibility to the public. The statue in Stintino is the second of its kind to be installed on public land in Europe, following one set up in Berlin, Germany, in 2020. Globally, it represents the 14th statue erected to honor the memory of these women, with the first unveiled in Glendale, California, in 2013.
The initiative was proposed to the city by the Korean Council in December of the previous year, and Stintino Mayor Rita Vallebella promptly embraced the project. At the unveiling ceremony, Vallebella highlighted the statue’s role in promoting the universal human rights of women. The statue represents about 200,000 Asian women, predominantly Koreans, who were forcibly conscripted into front-line brothels to serve as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, a historical issue that remains a point of contention from the period of 1910-45 when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule.