Citation

Tomiyasu T, Suzui E. Kawasaki Med. Welf. J. 2008; 18(1): 65-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Domestic violence is clearly defined by the Domestic Violence Law, which was enacted in October 2001 due to the recognition of the existence of violence between married couples being a serious problem affecting the life of the victim. As a result of this enactment, changes in how women are perceived and an increase in general awareness of human rights, reports of domestic violence between married couples have increasing year upon year. It can be said that the term "domestic violence" is widely acknowledged as including violence that exists in any intimate relationship, including what should better be described as "date violence". In contrast to family-related domestic violence, victims of "date violence" are not legally treated the same under the terms outlined in the Domestic Violence Law, even though this kind of out-of-marriage violence is included in the term "domestic violence". In other words, victims of domestic violence are protected under Civil Law, which recognizes only legal relationships such as those resulting from marriage, so victims among unmarried couples in intimate relationships do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Domestic Violence Law and therefore are not protected by it. It is not an exaggeration to say that support for these latter victims can generally only be found at private shelters or police consultation centers. In cases involving young couples, it is unusual for victims to step forward, and moreover, there is often no one close to the victim who can give sound advice. In cases involving high school victims, there are extremely few students able to consult their teachers at school, and adjudication procedures are unavailable. It is easy to misunderstand the extent of legal protections available to victims of "domestic violence" due to the disparity between the legal use of the term and the public perception of the meaning of the term. Therefore, it might be considered necessary to rethink whether or not the more appropriate expression "date violence", for violence that occurs outside of marriage, should be employed in the future. Furthermore, the authors argue this should be accompanied by the enactment of appropriate legislation to support victims of this type of violence.

Language: ja