1. Challenges of
DV support
systems in Japan
北仲 千里 Kitanaka Chisato

2. 1. Background
:gender gap is awful.
Although Japan is a big economic country, the women's
positions in the Japanese society are relatively low
compared to men's.

3. In the Human Development Index (HDI) by UN,
Japan is ranked 12th place in the world.
Human Development Index (HDI) by UNDP
*The Human Development Index (HDI) assesses inter-country development levels on the basis of three so-called deprivation
indicators: life expectancy, adult literacy and the logarithm of purchasing power adjusted per capita GDP.
1 Norway 11 Switzerland
12 Japan
2 Australia 13 Hong Kong, China
3 Netherlands 14 Iceland
4 United States 15 Korea, Republic
5 New Zealand 16 Denmark
6 Canada 17 Israel
7 Ireland 18 Belgium
8 Liechtenstein 19 Austria
9 Germany 20 France
10 Sweden

4. However, when we see The Global Gender Gap
Report 2011by the World Economic Forum,
Japan takes the 98th place.
*The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education- and
health-based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons
across regions and income groups, and over time.
1. Iceland 11. Germany
2. Norway 12. Spain
3. Finland 13. Belgium
4. Sweden 14. South Africa
5. Ireland 15. Netherlands
6. New Zealand 16. United Kingdom
7. Denmark 17. United States
8. Philippines 18. Canada
9. Lesotho 19. Latvia
10. Switzerland 20. Cuba
Japan……
98th!

5. 【 Work 】
Gender Equality In Employment Act(1986) have made some
differences, but most executives and professionals are men.
Wage Gap : Female average wage was 59.7% of male in
1986,
and in 2008, 67.8% .
House of Representatives members female rate 10.9 ％
(2010.12)
High-ranking government officials 2.5 ％ (2009.1)
Judges 16.5 ％ (2010.4)
Company presidents 5.8 ％ (2009)
Managerial level of companies 3.1 ％ (2009)

6. Recently established laws
1986 Gender Equality In Employment Act
1999 Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society
1999 Gender Equality In Employment Act was amended
; Sexual harassment has been defined
“Employers shall establish necessary measures”.
2000 Anti-Stalking Act
2000 The Child Abuse Prevention Law
2001 Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection
of Victims
2003 Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender for People with
Gender Identity Disorder (legal gender is permitted to be changed)

7. 2. Sexual Violence
Sexual Violence: Outdated criminal procedure
The definition and interpretation of rape in Japan's Penal Code
(1907) makes Japanese women suffer and discourage them from
speaking out.
For example, definition of sexual violence is narrow.
・ Silent victims
・ Light punishment (lighter than thief)
・ Marital rape has no judicial precedent
・ Only female is a “rape” victim
・ There’s no rape shield law

8. Article 177(Rape) in Penal Code defines rape as
below:
A person who, through assault or
intimidation, forcibly commits sexual
intercourse with a female of not less than
thirteen years of age commits the crime of
rape and shall be punished by imprisonment
with work for a definite term of not less than
3 years. The same shall apply to a person
who commits sexual intercourse with a
female under thirteen years of age.

9. Statistics Ａ 2007 police statistics/
the number of cases in custody
Indecent
(Offender) Rape
assault
Stranger 762 2646
Acquaintance, friend 268 272
People at work 55 147
Family member(spouse, parent, sibling,
33 22
child)
Relative 18 27
Other 145 273
Total 1281 3387

10. Statistics Ｂ “ Survey on Violence between Men and
Women(2008)” by Cabinet Office, Gender Equality Bureau
• 7.3% of female respondents have experienced
rape by men.
• And 75.6% of the offenders were
acquaintance,
acquaintance
strangers were 13.8%

11. Statistics B : Who’s the rapist that you know?
husband 35.5%
work 25.8%
school, university 7.5%
community 4.3%
family and relative 7.6%
facility 1.1%
other 12.9%
no answer 1.1%

12. 3. Domestic Violence
• Temporary protection of victims : 12,000 cases a
year
• Counseling cases in public facilities: 72,000 a year
• Counseling cases to police : 33,000 a year
• Protection order : less than 33,000 a year
• One in three women experience DV.
• 10% of them are scared for their life.
• Every three days a wife is murdered by her husband.
(Japan’s total population is over 127 million)

13. 3. Domestic Violence
In 2001, “Law for the Prevention of Spousal
Violence and the Protection of Victims” was
established.
The major point of the law is :
•Protection order( 保護命令 ) by court
1 . Order Prohibiting Approach to the Victim （接近禁止命令）
: Order that forbids the abuser from approaching the victim, or
loitering in the vicinity of the victim’s domicile, workplace, or other
place for six months.

14. 2. Order Prohibiting Phone Calls or Other Behavior
3. Order Prohibiting Approach to the Victim’s Child or
Relative, etc.
4. Order to Vacate( 退去命令 ):2 months
•The prefecture's government has the
responsibility for temporary protection.
Spousal Violence Counseling and Support Centers in
each prefecture offer the consultation, counseling,
temporary protection for victims.

15. However,
the law only has begun to "protect victim's life."
•Punishment for offenders is not defined.
•Unmarried couples and gay couples are not included.
•The support system of victims is based on Social
Welfare Law but not treated as a human-rights issue.
Public facilities are run under the Social Welfare Law.
We have one public facility in every prefecture and
about 103 private shelters.

16. The differences between public
facilities and private shelters
• One public facility is set in every prefecture.
Public facilities are run by national budget.
• There are 103 private shelters. They are
sponsored and run on their own.own
Public financial support to private shelters is
scarce, so each group maintains their activity
by applying for grants.

17. 1 Stage
st
VICTIM
警 察 Public Private Court
病院 Hospital
Police Shelter Shelter 裁判所

18. 2 Stage for a new life
nd
被害者 Victim
transfer of
refuge welfare residence baby Find a job
school
Public
School/
Welfare housing/ Nursery Employment
Shelter Board of
office apartment school bureau
education
house
home for mothers and children
public facilities

19. Problems of current system
• The law should cover all victims of
intimate partner violence.
• The government should treat private
shelters as equivalent to public shelters.
• Financial assistance to victims should be
institutionalized.

20. • Punishment for offenders should be
legalized.
• Police officers and civil officer’s
ignorance is also a big problem.
→
Training and education are needed.

21. T hank you .