Ex-female SDF member wins redress for on-base sexual assault

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Ex-female SDF member wins redress for on-base sexual assault

The Sapporo District Court on June 29 ordered the state to pay compensation for sexual violence against an ex-Air Self-Defense Force member at an ASDF base in Hokkaido. The plaintiff’s bench commented that the ruling was epochal because the court acknowledged the occurrence of sexual violence, which the state denied, and held the SDF legally responsible to respond.

The plaintiff, who was 20 at the time, was sexually assaulted by a male ASDF member while on night duty in a room on the base, and was forced to resign by her superior who neglected to take appropriate responsive measures. She filed a lawsuit for state compensation on May 8, 2007. The court recognized the plaintiff’s complaint, and ordered the state to pay 5.8 million yen in compensation.

The state denied the allegation, alleging that it was consensual sex. However, the court recognized the occurrence of sexual assault, and also that the officer in command of her unit made it difficult for her to consult a gynecologist, allowing the offender to continue to serve on the base, and coerced the victim to resign.

After chief justice Hashizume Hitoshi finished reading out the decision and declared the case closed, those in the attendance applauded, to which the plaintiff deeply and thankfully expressed her appreciation in tears.

She said, “Many female SDF members are crying out for help at many SDF bases across Japan. I am deeply grateful for those who have supported me.”

Her court struggle taking over three years was long and painful. She suffered from sleeplessness, poor appetite, and headaches. The SDF changed her work position to an unused storeroom the day after she took the matter to the courts. She faced various forms of harassment, such as exclusion from training and having to listen to bad things said about her during her hearing.

As to why she opted to continue to serve as an ASDF member while going to court, the plaintiff said, “I had no reason to resign because I needed to keep the job to support myself.”

When her two-year term expired in 2009, the SDF rejected her re-appointment without letting her know why.

Akahata of July 30 said that many acts of infringement on human rights and dignity such as bullying, violence, and sexual harassment, as well as suicides, are more often than not concealed and internally dealt with, without revealing the cause and the truth behind such incidents.

The changes taking place in the SDF mission are pointed out as a causal contributor to these acts.

“International contribution” is now regarded to be the main mission of the SDF. With this change, missions abroad in cooperation with the U.S. forces become a part of routine and have been enlarged to cover the whole world.

This in turn makes the SDF call for a powerful SDF and the members’ determination to carry out orders at all-paramount. Against this background, the command hierarchy is in disregard of such conditions, and gives tacit approval of irresponsible conduct by superiors and fellow members and allows sexual abuse to continue.

The need for the SDF is to take the latest court ruling seriously, by examining every offense against human rights in order to establish the cause, clarify the responsibility, and firmly take measures to prevent similar offences from recurring.

-Akahata, July 30, 2010