Brutality on women by the Japanese police - Essay Example

BRUTALITY ON WOMEN BY THE JAPANESE POLICE Brutality against women can be of many forms. It may entail enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer, torture, rape or even the non spoken form of cruelty. The torture of not being able to freely state your thoughts or raise a voice to receive what you are entitled to. While looking at the Japanese economy, an act of disgrace which still murk golden pages of history would be the issue of the Japanese Imperial Government kidnapping and enforcing young girls under their occupation during the World War II into sex slaves. However the Japanese Government still defends its acts and denies that the heinous act ever occurred. (1) In spite of the world stepping into a fast growing dynamic world, it is visible that the behavior of police of Japan towards women tends to repeat the historical trend. Women are constantly brutalized and bruised by police officers- emotionally if not physically. Walking down the lines of time, we can witness the estimates made by researchers about the number of “comfort girls” exploited during the past. The figure is expected to be around eighty to two hundred thousand; women were abused and brutalized in the “comfort centers” (Yoshiaki 93). The comfort women were administered, processed, dispatched and controlled by the Japan military. These women were to accompany the military to conquered places or colonial province and comfort them during the times of World War 2 (Yoshiaki 48). These women were forced to please the military personals unless they were in hospital, there were no fixed leaves for the women, it purely depended on the needs of the men. They endured abuse and violence and were forced to accept military currency for their “services” (Yoshiaki 139). The torment of being forced everyday drained these women emotionally and psychologically. Post the war these women were allowed to leave without any sense of guilt or apologies from the government of Japan. These women could not openly speak about their ordeals due to the pressures from the society and were pushed to suffer the trauma silently. The Japanese government also kept denying the odious act. The way that these women were treated did not violate international law at the time therefore, the Japanese government committed no crimes against them and has no responsibility to issue apologies or provide compensation (Yoshiaki 8). While sources show that these women were either abducted from their homes or were promised to become “military nurses” and not sexual victims. A nameless doctor in charge of examining the comfort women in China in 1940 wrote in his diary “it was not pleasant to conduct these examinations. This kind of work does not appeal to me, and the awareness that I am trampling on their humanity is never far from my mind…….though they only worked as comfort women for a short time, I worry about their future” (Yoshiaki 121). The story of the “comfort women” only came to be known when a woman came in front to state her story in the times of war. Shi n Dong Hyuk in his book “Escape to the outside world” writes about the torturous environment in a prison camp. He speaks of how he witnessed his mother being ill treated during her retention there till she was killed by a train while working on the rail tracks “At 14, he was forced to watch as guards executed his mother and 22-year-old brother for trying to escape.” He also revealed the so called “10 commandments” of the hellish place and the 8th one reads “Men and women may not be together outside the workplace. The punishment for unauthorized physical contact between a man and a woman is death.” The power of authority thrusted in the hands of few individuals often leads to misuse of this profound responsibility. The legal system in Japan showcases the same point. (2) Let us take a recent example here: Jan 2nd 2009, Jane, an Australian woman was raped by a U.S. navy sailor in Japan in the year 2002. She tried to seek help from the Japanese police but was not obliged. Later she received compensation from Japans’ Ministry of Defense in 2004. Now she is seeking compensation for the ill treatment she got from the police in Japan. She felt that the attitude would deter the women from bringing forth rape cases (quiet common in Japan) to the fore run. The kanagawa police argued they did not feel it was necessary to provide a rape victim with under wear or showers or have a female officer conducting the investigation. To add to their statement they also felt rape victims did not need immediate medical attention and that asking them to re enact the rape scene was a natural move. Japanese way? Well, the case is a classic example of the truth. These women who are engraved with deep pain are not shown an ounce of compassion rather they are asked to duplicate the trauma for their clarity of thoughts. The case might not stand as a direct case of physical assault but the mental trauma would be far too high. (3) The constitution of any economy is set with the primary motive of defending its citizens. Thereby, the basic right every Japanese citizen has is the right to security when required from the police. A research done in Japan by Dr. Sharman Babior shows that “The latest police reports from Japan cite that one third of women who are killed each year are killed by their husbands. This is a number that is surprisingly similar to the number you will find in the United States. So, as we look at the issue cross-culturally, I think what we can say is that there are more similarities than differences that unite women that are found in these sorts of situations." She speaks about a particular instance where a lady kept requesting the police for help but was but provided with any; instead the police asked her to reconcile with her husband. This woman in context has been constantly been beaten up by her husband and has visited the nursing home multiple times to seek treatment for the injuries. Should she be denied the right of protection and is that a form of brutality, is a question the Japanese system needs to evaluate. (4) In his book Peasants, rebels, women and outcastes, Mikiso Hane speaks about the violence the Japanese police displayed on a women member of a socialist women’s organization taking part in the May parade. “The police of Japan act so brutally. They beat fragile women and beat and kick them….by their hair and their kimono lines…while dragging them away”. Such is the gruesome punishment bestowed upon the women for partaking in a march. (5) The constitution of Japan (article 36) states that “infliction of torture by any public officer and cruel punishment are absolutely forbidden”. However the reforms in this ground are narrow and have not been revised for a long duration now. The coercion by a public officer to have a sexual encounter has also never been stated as constitute of torture. Cases of having police officials forcing themselves on detained prisoners are rather common. Few examples may be sited as the incident in June 2004 when a warden was arrested for getting a detained woman pregnant or in July 2005, when an assistant inspector was arrested for raping a detained woman. The national police agency states that a man cannot enter a woman cell or interrogate her without a female assistant along, but these cases and many more speak otherwise. Many women in the fear of being brutalized and ill treated by police officers do not approach them with their problems. In April 2004 a woman was raped by an assistant inspector who had received a report from her on domestic violence in December 2004. The inspector on a vigilance routine visited the lady’s house and committed the crime. However, the police did not prosecute the person as they believe that her resistance was not strong enough to term it a “rape”. Such a case shows the folly in the judiciary system in Japan and the dire need to make stringent reforms in the laws. References: 1. Japan’s Comfort Women: The Lies Continue Bonnie Doyle 1982 Http://Www.Koreamonitor.Net/Bullinfo.Cfm?Upccode=Bg29745a29-9&Category=Coverstory 2. Reveal the Brutality of Prison Camp, December 2008 Http://Www.Impunitywatch.Com/Impunity_Watch_Asia/2008/12/Reveal-The-Brutality-Of-Prison-Camp-In-North-Korea-.Html 3. International; By Catherine Makino - Wenews Correspondent Http://Www.Feminist.Com/News/Vaw106.Html 4. Sexual Abuse and Human Trafficking In Japan; By Anson Musselman Http://Www.International.Ucla.Edu/Article.Asp?Parentid=5164 5. Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes, Mikiso Hane, Pg 282 6. Violations of Women’s Rights in Japan, Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, 38th Session Http://Www2.Ohchr.Org/English/Bodies/Cat/Docs/Ngos/Shadow_Rep_Japan.Pdf 7. Tanaka, Yuki. Japan’s Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery And Prostitution During World War Ii And The Us Occupation. Routledge: London, 2002. 8. Yoshiaki, Yoshimi. Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery In The Japanese Military During World War Ii. Columbia University Press: New York, 2000. Read More