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marriage, Ruff-O'Herne had alluded to what had happened to her during the war and asked for his patience if they were to be married. For decades after the war, Ruff-O'Herne continued to have nightmares and feel fearful, especially during sexual relations with her husband. They had a good marriage but Ruff-O'Herne's experience as a comfort woman continually affected her life.
239:, Indonesia. In February 1944, high-ranking Japanese officials arrived at the camp and ordered all single girls seventeen years and older to line up. Ten girls were chosen; Ruff-O'Herne, twenty-one years old at the time, was one of them. Ruff-O'Herne and six other young women were taken by Japanese officers to an old Dutch colonial house at
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On their first day, photographs of the women were taken and displayed at the reception area. The soldiers picked the girls they wanted from the photographs. The girls were all given
Japanese names; all were names of flowers. Over the following three months, the women were repeatedly raped and beaten.
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In the decades after the war, Ruff-O'Herne did not speak publicly about her experience until 1992, when three Korean comfort women demanded an apology and compensation from the
Japanese government. Inspired by the actions of these women and wanting to offer her own support, Ruff-O'Herne decided to
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After the war ended and Ruff-O'Herne was liberated, she met Tom Ruff, a member of the
British military. The two were married in 1946. After living in Britain, the couple emigrated to Australia in 1960 where they raised their two daughters, Eileen and Carol. In letters she wrote to Tom prior to her
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project for Dutch victims was formally established. Although 79 Dutch women accepted Japan's apology and atonement money, Ruff-O'Herne considered the fund an insult and refused the compensation offered, wanting Japan to come to terms with its history and offer a sincere apology. From 1992
263:, where they were reunited with their families. The Japanese warned them that if they told anyone about what happened to them, they and their family members would be killed. While many of the young girls' parents guessed what had happened, most remained silent, including Ruff-O'Herne.
356:... ...I have forgiven the Japanese for what they did to me, but I can never forget. For fifty years, the “Comfort Women” maintained silence; they lived with a terrible shame, of feeling soiled and dirty. It has taken 50 years for these women's ruined lives to become a
247:. Ruff-O'Herne got the signature of each girl that night on a small white handkerchief and embroidered it in different colours which she kept for fifty years and referred to it in her writing as precious "secret evidence of the crimes done to us".
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for being an "advocate for human rights and the protection of women in war, and for leadership in encouraging articulation of war-related atrocities." Ruff-O'Herne died in
Adelaide on 20 August 2019, aged 96. The character Ellen Jansen in
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Ruff-O'Herne fought against the soldiers every night and even cut her hair to make herself ugly to the
Japanese soldiers. Cutting her hair short had the opposite effect, however, making her a curiosity. Shortly before the end of
203:. After remaining silent for fifty years, Ruff-O'Herne spoke out publicly from the 1990s until her death to demand a formal apology from the Japanese government and to highlight the plight of other "
298:, Ruff-O'Herne broke her silence and shared her story at the International Public Hearing on Japanese War Crimes in Tokyo in December 1992. In 1994 Ruff-O'Herne published a personal memoir titled
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issue. I hope that by speaking out, I have been able to make a contribution to world peace and reconciliation, and that human rights violation against women will never happen again.
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243:. The girls thought they would be forced into factory work or used for propaganda. They soon realized that the colonial house was to be converted to a military
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noted: "her story of survival is a tribute to her strength and courage, and she will be sorely missed not only here in South
Australia, but around the world."
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Ruff-O'Herne continued to work for the "plight of the
Comfort Women and for the protection of women in war." In September 2001 she was awarded the
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235:, Ruff-O'Herne and thousands of Dutch women were forced into hard physical labor at a prisoner-of-war camp at a disused army barracks in
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Ruff-O'Herne, Jan (2005). "Fifty years of silence : cry of the raped". In Durham, Helen and Tracey Gurd (eds). (ed.).
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344:. But one story was never told, the most shameful story of the worst human rights abuse committed by the Japanese during
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for being a "campaigner and advocate for human rights and the protection of women in war." In 2002 she was made an
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Many stories have been told about the horrors, brutalities, suffering and starvation of Dutch women in
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352:, and how these women were forcibly seized against their will, to provide sexual services for the
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50 Years of
Silence: The story of Jan Ruff-O'Herne. New York, N.Y.: First Run/Icarus Films.1994
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as part of a congressional hearing on "Protecting the Human Rights of
Comfort Women":
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690:"WWII rape survivor, human rights activist Jan Ruff—O'Herne dies in Adelaide aged 96"
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304:, which documents the struggles that she faced while secretly living the life of a
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Soh, C. Sarah (2003). "Japan's
National/Asian Women's Fund for "Comfort Women"".
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Portrait taken in March 1942, shortly before the Japanese invasion of Indonesia
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Threads of life : a history of the world through the eye of a needle
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477:"'Comfort woman' who was repeatedly raped by Japanese troops dies at 96"
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608:. London: Sceptre (Hodder & Stoughton). pp. 61–62.
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Dutch/Australian human rights activist for WW2 rape victims
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On 15 February 2007 Ruff-O'Herne appeared before the
638:"Award Extract - Australian Honours Search Facility"
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A Risky Business: Chloe Rice’s Journey Off-Broadway
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414:"Fifty years of silence : cry of the raped"
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854:. U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from
405:Listening to the silences : women and war
187:known for campaigning internationally against
483:. Australian Associated Press. 21 August 2019
826:"Dutch Australian activist died at 96 years"
507:Steven Marshall | Premier of South Australia
294:speak out as well. At the invitation of the
233:Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
259:, the women were moved to a camp in Bogor,
670:. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
644:. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
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455:. Herald and Weekly Times. p. 1788.
407:. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 3–8.
179:(18 January 1923 – 19 August 2019) was a
919:Recipients of the Order of Orange-Nassau
433:Abridged version of Ruff-O'Herne (2005).
365:Statement by Jan Ruff O'Herne at a 2007
348:: The story of the "Comfort Women", the
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730:"'Nu is het mijn moment om te spreken'"
421:International Humanitarian Law Magazine
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503:"Vale Jan Ruff-O'Herne AO (1923-2019)"
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296:Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts
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924:Officers of the Order of Australia
852:"Statement of Jan Ruff O'Herne AO"
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934:Expatriates in the United Kingdom
894:Australian human rights activists
276:Officer in the Order of Australia
219:Ruff-O'Herne was born in 1923 in
209:South Australian Attorney-General
391:. Sydney: Editions Tom Thompson.
270:In 2001 Ruff-O'Herne received a
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728:Lock, Ellen (September 2009).
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664:"Mrs Jeanne Alida RUFF-OHERNE"
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324:in recognition of this work.
322:Government of the Netherlands
899:Women human rights activists
282:Comfort Women: A New Musical
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385:Ruff-O'Herne, Jan (1994).
285:is based on Ruff-O'Herne.
451:Pearce, Suzannah (2007).
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909:Immigrants to Australia
734:Verhalenoverdeoorlog.nl
548:Australian War Memorial
227:, then a colony of the
604:Hunter, Clare (2019).
453:Who's who in Australia
388:Fifty years of silence
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354:Japanese Imperial Army
318:Order of Orange-Nassau
301:Fifty Years of Silence
207:". On her death, the
201:Imperial Japanese Army
183:of Irish ancestry and
150:Order of St. Sylvester
124:Order of Orange-Nassau
776:. Asian Women's Fund.
756:"50 Years of Silence"
710:Robles, K.C. (2018).
342:Japanese prison camps
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289:Human rights activism
185:human rights activist
18:Jan Ruff O'Herne
914:People from Bandung
397:Essays and chapters
668:honours.pmc.gov.au
642:honours.pmc.gov.au
313:Asian Women's Fund
141:Order of Australia
225:Dutch East Indies
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346:World War II
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889:2019 deaths
884:1923 births
836:18 November
674:18 November
648:18 November
553:18 November
513:18 November
350:jugun ianfu
878:Categories
760:Good Reads
736:(in Dutch)
624:1079199690
438:References
308:survivor.
67:1923-01-18
804:0030-851X
740:28 August
696:20 August
487:21 August
261:West Java
215:Biography
191:. During
139:Officer,
830:NL Times
812:40024391
423:(2): 6–7
363:—
306:war rape
241:Semarang
237:Ambarawa
189:war rape
122:Knight,
111:Tom Ruff
97:Adelaide
75:Bandoeng
481:The Age
320:by the
245:brothel
223:in the
221:Bandung
199:by the
810:
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153:(2002)
144:(2002)
135:(2001)
127:(2001)
116:Awards
108:Spouse
808:JSTOR
417:(PDF)
379:Books
864:2013
838:2019
800:ISSN
742:2022
716:Link
698:2019
676:2019
650:2019
620:OCLC
610:ISBN
555:2019
515:2019
489:2019
457:ISBN
429:2015
86:Died
61:Born
168:Jan
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