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How Japan 2011 quake, tsunami survivors faced a ‘secondary disaster’: sexual violence in shelters
- Japan is preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which devastated Fukushima and other parts of the country
- A new documentary based on hotline calls from women about sexual abuse in emergency shelters has attracted widespread attention and anger
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For some survivors, the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami disaster will bring back memories of the sexual abuse they suffered a decade ago. This story is part of a series on women’s issues in China and Asia to coincide with International Women’s Day.
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As Japan prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 18,000 lives in 2011, a new documentary has shed light on a little-known tragedy that took place in the aftermath of the disaster – the sexual abuse of dozens of women in emergency shelters across the north-east of the country over the following months.
The 45-minute documentary by national broadcaster NHK, titled Buried Voices, is based on the large number of calls to telephone hotlines from women in the three hardest-hit prefectures, Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi.
A number of women who were victims of sexual assault in the shelters are also interviewed, although their identities are concealed.
Their stories are, in places, so harrowing that the documentary has attracted widespread attention and comment in Japan.
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