Gender-based violence following the Great East Japan Disasters of March 2011

This study was conducted to document the incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) after the Great East Japan Disasters of March 2011 and to recommend ways to strengthen disaster response policies and practice concerning GBV.

Using a structured questionnaire, informants who had first-hand information about specific incidents of GBV that occurred after the Great East Japan Disasters reported incident-specific data, such as the type of violence, location, and context.

Eighty-two unduplicated cases were reported between October 2011 and December 2012.  The majority of the reported cases involved perpetrators that the victims knew, as opposed to strangers.  The reported cases indicate that disasters have intensified and/or made visible women’s vulnerabilities.  Besides incidents of intimate partner violence, reported cases often involved exploitation of single women, single mothers, and those otherwise unattached or living alone.  Exploitation of a sense of fear, helplessness, and powerlessness was often the tactic employed by perpetrators, including those individuals who are in the position to assist disaster-affected individuals.  Also reported were quid pro quo types of assault where threats were used to force compliance with sexual demands in exchange for shelter, food and other life-sustaining resources. 

Disaster response policies and practices must pay particular attention to the vulnerabilities faced by single/unattached women.  Enhanced training, screening and monitoring of disaster response personnel, leaders of evacuation centers and temporary housing, and civil servants who administer these programs are necessary in Japan to prevent GBV.  Prevention of post-disaster GBV calls for reducing and ending pre-disaster gender disparities.