Citation

Yoshihama M, Yunomae T, Tsuge A, Ikeda K, Masai R. Violence Against Women 2019; 25(7): 862-881.

Affiliation

Women's Net Kobe, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801218802642

PMID

30322348

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.

Language: en

Keywords

disaster and humanitarian emergencies; domestic and sexual violence; gender-based violence