Japanese passed bill to protect vulnerable women

19-05-2022 

Malina Wiethaus

Japan and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

On Thursday the 19th of May 2022, Japan’s parliament passed a bill aimed at protecting vulnerable women, that are for example dealing with poverty or sexual violence. The new bill will come into effect in April 2024 (Kyodo, 2022). 

Currently, vulnerable women are solely protected under the anti-prostitution law encacted in 1956, which addresses women who feel like prostitution is their only way out of sexual exploitation or poverty. The demand for a more general law protecting women in vulnerable situations increased, which is why this law was passed. Its aim is to ensure better protection of women through the facilitation of cooperations between support groups, local governments and nongovernmental organizations (Kyodo, 2022). 

Local governments are thus responsible for creating plans to protect and ensure women’s welfare and their human rights. The new law also addresses many female victims of sexuzal and domestic abuse, as the number of cases have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic. Furthermore, the counseling and shelter laws currently in place through the anti-prostitution law will be revised and included into the new bill (Kyodo, 2022). 

Sources and further readings: 

Kyodo. (2022, May 19). Japan passes bill to enhance support for vulnerable women. The 

Japan Times. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/19/national/crime-legal/women-support-bill-pass/

KYODO NEWS. (2022, May 19). Bill to enhance support for vulnerable women passed in 

Japan. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from 

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/05/65144e592fe5-bill-to-enhance-support-f

or-vulnerable-women-passed-in-japan.html