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	<< Back "DAWN" Newsletter of The DAWN CENTER The Present State of Violence toward Women in Japan Noriko Hattori The definition of "violence against women" or domestic violence In Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted in the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, "violence against women" is defined as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." The problem of violence toward women has emerged internationally as a focus of the women's human rights movement. In Japan, too, efforts toward solving this problem gradually began around the time of the fourth Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995. Some women have promoted activities against sexual violence such as sexual harassment since the 1980s in Japan. Concerning domestic violence (i.e. violence from husbands and partners), the first nationwide survey was conducted in 1992. It showed that though this kind of violence is serious in Japan, it is invisible in the society. In 1996, based on the action plan of Beijing Women's Conference, Japan's action plan toward this issue, the Gender Equality Plan 2000, was enacted. In this plan, violence against women was placed as an important issue to be solved as quickly as possible and work on this issue was accelerated. At the government level, the first inquiries about violence to women were made in the national public opinion poll about gender equality taken in 1995. In this poll, about 40% of the respondents felt that women's human rights were not valued because of sexual harassment in the workplace or domestic violence from husbands and partners. As many as 20% of the respondents reported that they had seen or heard of violence between couples, had knowledge of it from people around them, or had been consulted about it. In 1997, a survey about violence against women was undertaken by the Tokyo Metropolis. Through this, it has become clear in the public data that there are many cases of violence against women in Japan. Fortunately, movements which try to tackle this problem are increasing gradually. For example, the police have opened consulting windows for the victims of sexual crimes. In addition, the revised Equal Employment Opportunity Law, which was revised in 1997 and goes into full effect in April 1999, requires employers to try to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Furthermore, a country-wide networking campaign against sexual harassment in colleges and schools has also been started. Concern about domestic violence is increasing rapidly among women. The movement to provide shelters from violence has recently become more active than other aspects in women's movements. In the past two or three years, about 20 shelters were created, nationwide conferences were held, and the networking movement to provide adequate shelter to victims of violence has become very dynamic. In order to enlighten society to this problem and to promote a viable network, the Japan Domestic Violence Prevention Information Center was established in May 1998. Although women's determination and desire to overcome domestic violence are strong, they still face difficulty in maintenance and management of their activities, especially economically. Private hot lines to consult about domestic violence also have been opened, and feminist therapists and feminist counselors provide consultation about violence to women. In Japan, violence against women has only just begun to become visible. Even experts in public organizations or courts tend to lack knowledge and recognition of this problem. Unfortunately, few social measures and instruments exist to adequately address this issue. Legislation and welfare are needed to release women from violence and to guarantee their safety and well-being. In addition, in Japan, sex-role stereotypes are deeply rooted and women's right to work is not fully guaranteed. Many women rely upon men economically and cannot live without submitting to subordination. Violence against women is not a private problem affecting a few women, but a social problem concerning all women as a whole. We need to recognize this problem in relationship to other women's problems in the construction and systems of society. Page Top Copyright (C) DawnCenter. All Rights Reserved.