This statement applies to material submitted through the site’s “Submit Material” page. Submitting is not publishing — please read the following before you submit.
1. What You Can Submit
- Documents, photographs, oral accounts, object leads and background notes relating to the history of the “comfort women” issue.
- Attachments: PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, TXT, DOCX; up to 25 MB per file and up to 5 files by default.
- For oral material, please attach a written summary of the audio/video content and state whether informed consent exists and what its scope is.
- Object material may be submitted first as photographs with a written description; we will discuss next steps after an initial assessment.
2. What Happens After Submission
- Receipt: the system issues a submission reference number for later enquiries and correspondence.
- Review: in the order rights → privacy → ethics. If more information is needed, we will contact you through the details you provided.
- Confirmation: we confirm the details of the material and the scope of authorisation (public or not, anonymous or not, permitted uses).
- Disposition: material that passes review and is authorised may enter the tiered archive (L0–L3); unauthorised or unsuccessful material is not published.
For status stages, see the FAQ on submission and use policy (received → in_review → contacted → accepted / declined / withdrawn).
3. How Personal Information Is Handled
- We collect only what is necessary: name or form of address, contact details, and background needed to verify provenance.
- Your contact details are used only to communicate about this submission; they are not used for marketing and are not passed to unrelated third parties.
- Identity information concerning survivors and their families is handled anonymously by default; publication requires separate authorisation and risk assessment.
- Attachments and submission records are subject to access control and audit logging, handled only by authorised staff.
4. Retention
- Published content is retained long-term under archival rules, together with source and version information.
- For unsuccessful submissions and withdrawn records we keep a minimal reference number and audit facts (to avoid duplicate processing and to allow traceability); other personally identifiable information is deleted or anonymised.
- Retention periods depend on the nature of the material and legal requirements; please state any special requirement when submitting.
5. Right to Withdraw
- You may withdraw at any time without giving reasons.
- After withdrawal: identity fields are anonymised and published content is taken down (if it was published); only a minimal reference number and audit facts remain.
- Please make withdrawal requests through your original contact channel; we will act after verifying identity.
6. Our Commitments
- Without your authorisation we will not use material for purposes beyond what was agreed;
- Submission records and audit information are kept securely, and you may ask about progress at any time;
- If a risk emerges during processing (for example, if identity could be inferred), we may suspend publication and consult you.
This statement applies together with the Ethics Guidelines; for questions or withdrawal, please use the Contact page.