Our oral statement for a meeting on Violence Against Women at the the 47th Human Rights Council session in Geneva was aired on June 29 on the UN’s media website streaming the meeting. Our statement focuses on the gaps in Japan’s rape laws and the problem of coercion of women into the pornography industry.
You can watch our oral statement video below, as well as on the UN’s website at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k13/k13j5kfq09, where our oral statement begins at 1:29:41.
The transcript of the oral statement is also written below the video, and is also available here in pdf format: HRC47_OS_Rape_Law_and_VAW_Transcript.pdf
Human Rights Council 47th Session
Item 3: Interactive Dialog with SR on Violence Against Women
Speaker: Inès MOUILLARD
Transcript of Oral Statement on Violence Against Women
Thank you, Madam President.
Human Rights Now expresses grave concern over the gaps states have in protecting victims of rape and sexual violence internationally, including on- and off-line sexual violence, and the exacerbation caused by covid19.
In Japan, the narrow definition of rape, requiring a threat or violence, has been an enormous obstacle to justice for victims and creates a culture of impunity. In 2019, for example, a father was acquitted for raping his 19-year-old daughter due to the lack of sufficient “coercion”. The age of consent of 13 years old also leaves young girls vulnerable. A recent survey of victims shows only a small number report to police and only 0.7% of them reported their attackers being criminally punished. We urge the government to bring its law and practice in line with international standards.
We also want to highlight the coercion of women into pornography as a form of sexual violence. Our research in Japan found that many young women are deceived into signing modeling contracts without knowing they would perform in pornography. Violence, humiliation, and threats make it difficult for them to escape. Their rape and sexual violence are then recorded and distributed globally for profit, driving many to trauma and suicide.
We ask the Council to be aware of this problem and create guidelines, and on all states and Internet providers to create effective measures and sector-specific guidelines to prevent and punish this form of coercive sexual violence.
Thank you.