MEDIA ADVISORY

Protecting and Encouraging Silence Breakers in Japan

Press Briefing Friday, March 16^th at 2:00 pm

WHAT: During the week of March 12 Ms. Kazuko Ito, Founder of Human Rights Now, will be in New York City to join the CSW 62 along with Ms. Shiori Ito, a journalist who broke Japan’s silence about rape victims for the first time through her experience. They will brief UN reporters about the situation in Japan which still has a male dominated society in spite of being the world’s No. 3 economic power.

Speakers will discuss:

• Shiori Ito will discuss her experience as a sexual violence victim and will describe the massive challenge women victims in Japan face. After she disclosed her assault by a politically influential journalist, neither the social nor the legal system sufficiently helped her. She experienced media silence and a massive backlash from society, and most surprisingly from women.
• What is happening in Japan to silence rape victims in the midst of the #MeToo movement outside Japan.
• What the difficulties are in breaking the social, cultural and legal barriers in Japan where the society discourages women from speaking out about rape, sexual harassment and sexual violence.

Links to Shiori’s story:
https://www.politico.eu/article/metoo-sexual-assault-women-rights-japan/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05r58zm
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/world/asia/japan-rape.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-a-japanese-journalist-went-public-with-her-rape-allegation_us_59f9f89ae4b0d1cf6e921ec1

WHEN:         Friday, March 16, 2018

2:00-3:00pm, including Q&A

WHERE:     United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Room S-310

United Nations Secretariat Building, Third Floor

WHO:        The speakers include:

Ms. Kazuko Ito, Founder of Human Rights Now

Ms. Shiori Ito, journalist

CONTACT: Maromi Martinez  martinez9653@sbcglobal.net

Yoko Kobayashi ohayoko0505@gmail.com
rnnyinfo@gmail.com