Hansen’s Disease Survivors’ Rights
Hansen’s Disease Survivors’ Rights
For most of the twentieth century, Japanese and Korean people affected by leprosy (also called Hansen’s disease) were ostracized in specialized sanatoria (leprosaria) and subjected to various human rights abuses, including forced abortions and vasectomies, as a result of their governments’ policies and societal discrimination. Around the turn of the millennium, leprosy survivors in both countries mobilized to hold their governments accountable for contributing to their suffering. Through a comparison of leprosy-related activism in Japan and Korea, this chapter explores how early access to political elites can be detrimental for outsider groups. Some degree of initial political closure drives movements to invest more in grassroots mobilization, which tends to produce greater redress outcomes in the long run.
Keywords: Japan, South Korea, leprosy, political activism, redress, victims, human rights abuse, leprosy survivors, grassroots mobilization
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