Kazumi Ogasawara: Protecting Children from Sexual Violence—Building a Future Starting with Picture Books

2021/10/08

In recent years, sexual violence has been increasingly covered in the media, but how many people do you think actually fall victim to it? Many may think that "sexual violence happens to a few special people and is not around me." However, according to a survey by the Cabinet Office, 7% of women—approximately 1 in 14—reported having experienced "forced sexual intercourse, etc." When considering the overall picture of "sexual violence (= non-consensual sexual acts)," including molestation and voyeurism, this "7%" figure is just the tip of the iceberg. Sexual violence is a problem that is very difficult to bring to light. Furthermore, among the cases of forcible indecency recognized in 2020, 17% of the victims were 12 years old or younger, and 13% of those were boys. Sexual violence occurs regardless of gender.

Child pornography victimization is also serious, with more than 1,000 children discovered as victims of pornography every year since 2016. It is difficult to recover images leaked onto the internet, and they continue to cast a dark shadow over the lives of the children who were the subjects.

Characteristics of child sexual victimization include the child not understanding the meaning of what is being done to them and having no awareness that they are being victimized, and the victimization continuing for a long period because they cannot resist. Child sexual victimization has a particularly high number of "dark figures" (unreported cases).

Children in Japan are not taught that there are parts of their bodies that should be protected, or how to deal with it when those parts are violated. On the other hand, older family members, school teachers, and instructors of extracurricular activities or sports are authoritative figures for whom "it is natural to obey." In fact, by exploiting children's lack of knowledge and these power structures, sexual abuse from family and relatives continues for long periods, and indecent acts by nursery teachers, babysitters, and teachers are repeated; sexual violence is occurring even from people who are supposed to care for children.

It is not uncommon for victims to recognize the victimization for the first time during adolescence, more than 10 years after it occurred, leading to deep damage to self-esteem, wrist-cutting, alcohol and drug addiction, and sexual deviance, making their subsequent lives difficult. Sexual violence is an extremely serious human rights violation that causes long-term suffering for the victim.

Victims who cannot report the harm, perpetrators who continue to justify their actions, and bystanders who cannot stop the harm even when they see it. To eliminate sexual violence, "preventive education" is important to ensure that people do not end up in these positions. Since there is sexual abuse of young children and serious sexual bullying in elementary schools, preventive education is necessary for children before they enter elementary school, regardless of gender.

Knowledge of private zones means: "The private zone refers to the parts covered when wearing a swimsuit, and it is your own important place. Therefore, you must not easily show it to others or let them touch it. If someone tries to look at or touch that part without permission, say 'No! Stop!' and run away, and then tell an adult about it." Protecting "one's own important place" conversely means "you must not look at or touch other people's private zones without permission," which also leads to the prevention of perpetration. Furthermore, if we teach them that "even if you are told it's a secret promise, there are cases where you don't have to keep it," children will be able to speak up, and by telling them to "help your friends if they are in trouble," it is possible for them to stop being "helpless bystanders." Children need knowledge and empowerment.

According to the "International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (Revised Edition)" (edited by UNESCO), which describes international standards for comprehensive sexuality education, children aged 5 to 8 should learn that everyone has the "right to bodily self-determination," meaning they can decide who touches their body, where, and how. In light of this, sex education in Japan is clearly lagging behind. The Course of Study (Academic Advisory Board) indicated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology makes no mention of the right to bodily self-determination at all. Revision is essential, but it takes time. Reality cannot wait. If left as is, the damage will continue to expand.

I graduated from the Faculty of Policy Management in 1994 as a member of the first graduating class and joined the National Police Agency. Since the spring of 2020, I have been dispatched to Keio and given the honorable post of professor at my alma mater. Since joining the agency, I have moved across the country to places like Kobe, Utsunomiya, Osaka, Fukushima, and Hakodate, and have also worked in other ministries such as the Prime Minister's Office (at the time), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Cabinet Secretariat. At the central level, I was engaged in measures against organized crime, drugs, nuclear regulation, and gender equality. In the field, I started with police box duty and detective work, and worked on earthquake response, organized crime conflict response, election violation investigation command, international counter-terrorism, public relations, and the establishment of support centers for victims of sexual violence.

In 2008, while serving as a chief professor at the Police Policy Research Center (Special Investigation Executive Training Institute), an educational institution for executives of the national police, I participated in an international forum that made me realize how far behind Japan's measures against sexual violence were, and I began working on building a victim support system based in medical institutions.

Around the same time, a case of sexual abuse against children by an elementary school teacher was discovered in a certain regional city. The male teacher, who was 42 at the time of his arrest, had repeatedly raped a total of 27 female students over a period of 20 years at five different elementary schools where he worked. The unbelievably long period of sexual abuse had begun the year after he became a teacher. Questions like "Why did it continue for so long?" and "Why did no one consult anyone?" arose, but for children, a teacher is an "absolute figure." My heart felt like it was being crushed when I thought of the children who had been forced to carry dark secrets they could tell no one while being threatened, deceived, and talked into submission.

Colleagues had noticed the teacher's suspicious behavior, such as seeing him alone with female students in deserted classrooms, but they allowed him to transfer without taking measures, and the damage expanded. I felt that if the adults around him had taken a step further in their response, the dignity of so many children might not have been trampled upon. Triggered by my participation in the forum and this incident, I am currently working on three pillars: preventive education, victim support, and awareness-raising to increase the number of adults who can notice children's SOS signals.

During a class, a student told me, "Molestation is a daily occurrence for female students attending middle and high schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area," and I was appalled that the problem of molestation remains unresolved. While thinking that women-only cars and manga-style posters in stations alone would not be enough to eradicate it, I began to consider truly necessary measures. Molestation has such a serious impact that some victims give up attending school due to the shock, yet only 10% of victims report it to the police, and criminal statistics do not reflect the severity of the harm.

Here is a question. If you are on a train and think, "Could that be molestation?" what do you think you can do? Recently, the concept of the "Active Bystander," who does not turn a blind eye to non-consensual sexual contact or harassment, has been attracting attention. This is an important way of thinking where sexual crime is not treated as someone else's problem involving only the perpetrator and victim, but rather social safety is viewed as one's own business, and each individual takes action.

An Active Bystander has options for action starting with the five "Ds." For example, as an instance of Distract:

・Pretend to be an acquaintance of the victim and say, "It's been a long time."

・If you are seated, try offering your seat to the victim.

・Pretend to stumble and step between the victim and the perpetrator.

In these ways, you distract the perpetrator while drawing the attention of those around you. (In addition to this, there are Delegate (ask a third party for help), Document (keep evidence), Delay (respond later), and Direct (intervene directly)). If more people have these actions as options, we can make society safer.

In March 2021, Keio students from a group called Safe Campus created and released the "Sexual Consent Handbook Keio" to introduce this concept. Furthermore, they are soliciting designs to educate the public about Active Bystanders and are working on the production and dissemination of pin badges. In August of the same year, they visited the Officer of the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office to report on these activities and called for further strengthening of government efforts. I sincerely respect and want to support as much as possible the Keio students who act with the desire to change Japan into a society where the dignity of every individual is protected by their own hands, rather than treating it as someone else's business.

The attitude of "not making it someone else's business" also applies to the dissemination of private zone knowledge. If you convey this knowledge to your children or grandchildren when they first buy a school commuter pass, you can avoid being questioned later, "Why didn't you tell me (about how to deal with molestation) in advance?"

Therefore, I produced the sexual violence prevention education tool picture book "Tell Me! Kumo-kun: What is a Private Zone?," which can be conveyed even to young children, together with classmates who are Keio University alumni (I served as the supervisor). It incorporates the essential elements necessary to prevent sexual violence, and is designed so that important things can be conveyed simply by reading it aloud at home, nursery schools, kindergartens, or elementary schools.

Actions by adults trying to protect children have begun, such as making this picture book a commemorative gift for nursery school graduation, local medical associations donating it to kindergartens and nursery schools, and life insurance companies giving it as a present to customers. I would be extremely grateful if it could also be adopted by the Keio Gijuku Yochisha Elementary School or Keio Yokohama Elementary School.

I sincerely hope that this contribution will serve as a catalyst for the spread of the Active Bystander concept advocated by Keio students, that more Keio University alumni will view the eradication of sexual violence as "their own business," that the circle of giving knowledge and courage to all children across Japan will spread from the hands of Keio University alumni, and that this picture book will become a bridge to a future where everyone can spend their time in peace without sexual violence.

・There is pain that cannot be put into words

There is pain that cannot be put into words: Protecting children from sexual victimization —One is too many.—

・Tea and Consent

Consent – it’s simple as tea (Japanese version)

・Consent for kids

Consent for kids (Japanese version)

・Prevention Education Tools

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