Walking out of the shadows: Exploring the complexities of motherhood and intergenerational realities in the families of three Taiwanese comfort women survivors

Previous studies have found that Taiwanese comfort women survivors faced multiple forms of trauma from the comfort women system, and that societal prejudice against women's sexual victimization further impacted their marriages. However, there is minimal research exploring how sexual trauma may have impacted comfort women survivors' experiences of motherhood, alongside the consequences of survivors' experiences on subsequent generations. This article explores the perceptions of eight family members, including the second and third generations, of three deceased Taiwanese Han-Chinese ethnicity comfort women survivors. In particular, we trace family members' perspectives of survivors' mothering, and how family members were impacted by their mother's experiences as a comfort woman. To ensure participants' anonymity, findings are presented using composite narratives. The narratives illustrate the ways in which survivors' sexual trauma reportedly impacted survivors' family formation and mothering, and had long-term effects on survivors' offspring. According to family members, ambivalent mother-daughter relationships and conflictual relationships resulting from the preferential treatment of the male offspring were found. In addition, family members' psychological well-being, marriages, personality, and parenting were impacted by survivors' sexual trauma and conflictual family dynamics. Nevertheless, participants showed great strength and capacity under challenging circumstances and actively undertook their healing journey. We highlight the importance of providing culture-driven multilayered services for the families of comfort women survivors to foster intergenerational resilience, enabling them to continue to "walk out of the shadows" of conflict-related sexual violence.