Survivors of Japanese quake suffer violence, exploitation

ANN ARBOR-Although she lives alone, the Japanese woman keeps a large pair of men's shoes near her front door-part of her strategy to scare away stalkers. She began feeling threatened by unwanted visitors after she lost her home two years ago in Japan's horrific triple disaster-the earthquake that triggered a tsunami and nuclear crisis. She was living in temporary housing when a repairman who fixed her bath began stalking her. Her experience is one of many reported in a case-finding survey that documents women and children are victims of various types of violence and exploitation in the wake of the triple disaster. The study also proposes ways to address the problem as Japan marks the second anniversary of the quake on March 11. "The study is the first of its kind in Japan," said one of the researchers, Mieko Yoshihama, a professor of social work at the University of Michigan. "Uncovering and documenting the actual cases, although they are just the tip of the iceberg, will help us understand the types of violence that happens as well as why and how it happens." Yoshihama said that previously in Japan, nongovernmental organizations have gathered anecdotal information about violence and exploitation after disasters, but their claims were not taken seriously and faced public criticism.