Violence Against Women and Children Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster: Making the Invisible Visible Through Research

Citation:

Yoshihama, Mieko, Tomoko Yunomae, Azumi Tsuge, Keiko Ikeda, and Reiko Masai. 2019. "Violence Against Women and Children Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster: Making the Invisible Visible Through Research." Violence Against Women 25 (7): 862-81.

Authors: Mieko Yoshihama, Tomoko Yunomae, Azumi Tsuge, Keiko Ikeda, Reiko Masai

Abstract:

This study reports on 82 unduplicated cases of violence against women and children after the Great East Japan Disaster of March 2011. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from informants who worked with the disaster-affected populations. In addition to domestic violence, reported cases involved sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact, including quid pro quo assault perpetrated by nonintimates. Perpetrators often exploited a sense of fear, helplessness, and powerlessness and used threats to force compliance with sexual demands in exchange for life-sustaining resources. Findings point to the urgent need to develop measures to prevent and respond to postdisaster gender-based violence.

Keywords: domestic and sexual violence, gender-based violence, disaster and humanitarian emergencies

Topics: Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Violence, Violence Regions: Asia, East Asia Countries: Japan

Year: 2019