RIGHTS-JAPAN: Changes Add Teeth to Law on Domestic Violence

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Feb 25 2004 (IPS) - A bill that strengthens the law on domestic violence – by offering better protection for victims – has boosted the morale of Japanese women and groups that have long lobbied against spousal abuse in this patriarchial society.

”The revisions stand as a major step to encourage downtrodden women to stand up to their violent spouses,” says Kumiko, 30, who left an abusive marriage in October and brought along with her three-year-old son.

The revisions call for the extension of court protection for children and women, a comprehensive programme by officials to ensure the empowerment of abused women – and for the first time, describe verbal abuse as violence even though victims cannot be legally protected on that front.

Women lawmakers and activists will present the draft to the Japanese Diet or Parliament this month, in response to a stipulation in the initial domestic violence law passed in October 2001 that provides for a review of this legislation in three years. Lawmakers expect the revisions to be passed in the Diet session that ends in March.

”The proposed review indicates a further step towards protecting women’s rights. The law is based on the principle that battered women are powerful survivors and must be treated as such,” says Masayo Niwa, counsellor and active participant in the draft.

Sumiko Shimuzu, former lawmaker and now head of I-Josei Kai, a group of women’s activists, welcomes the latest revisions.

”Women are moving ahead despite the fact that domestic abuse remains deeply entrenched in Japanese society. Women have suffered silently, feeling powerless to fight traditions that have long forced women to play the role of supporting men,” she explains.

Other key points in the set of revisions proposed by the bill include court protection for former spouses and longer restraining orders of up to two months after an accusation of assault. This is an increase from the current two weeks.

The draft also demands concrete action by officials to help victims of spousal abuse to find jobs and housing, and to extend other forms of financial support until they can lead their lives independently.

Shimizu points out that the establishment of the law on domestic violence has pried open the door to more discussion of the issue, including through the conducting of official surveys. This has been an important development that helps awareness of the problem, she adds.

”There has been a lot of change after the launch of the law on domestic violence (in 2001) and this helped raise public awareness of wife-beating, one of the most important points in protecting women,” she says.

Kumiko, who prefers that her last name not be used, cannot agree more. ”When my husband got violent one night after I came home late, I just left the next day with my son. I am now receiving counselling and legal help from a support group and my parents understand my position very well,” she explains.

Such a stance would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

Signs of change can also be seen in a decision by the Tokyo metropolitan government to make combating domestic violence a large programme of its welfare section.

Yumiko Nishio, the official in charge of domestic violence at the metropolitan office, reports that a special consulting hotline has been set up for victims – 8,000 callers recorded last year. Nishio adds that more financial help has been extended to both public and private shelters for victims and their children who escape abusive situations.

Likewise, explains Nishino, the decision to include children in the proposed revision of the law is based on extensive surveys that have proven the need to protect offspring from violent fathers.

”Surveys taken after the first law was established show that mothers endure abuse for too long because they cannot leave their children. In addition, close monitoring programmes also show that children also suffer as badly as their mothers when being forced to watch their violent fathers,” she points out.

Keiko Okahashi, a counsellor at the Women’s Plaza that is funded by the Tokyo metropolitan government, reports that a new programme is now being planned to help abusive men stop domestic violence. ”After receiving more than 500 calls from men who seek help to stop beating their partners, we decided to start lectures and seminars for men to make them understand that domestic violence is a crime,” she says.

A study by the Justice Ministry revealed in January that perpetrators of domestic violence are on average about 40 years old and have a six-year history of assaulting family members. Alcohol abuse is also a major problem for men, according to this first comprehensive official study on domestic violence.

The Justice Ministry’s Research and Training Institute studied 346 abusers who faced criminal charges for murder and attempted murder or injury to spouses or former spouses.

Of the perpetrators, 322 were male and 24 female. Among them, 74.9 percent were habitual drinkers and 67.2 percent consumed alcohol when beating their victims.

The story also says more action is needed to stop date rape. In a separate report, the National Centre of Neurology and Psychiatry also found that more 80 percent of hospitals are not prepared to deal with domestic violence and often do not act quickly to protect victims.