Osaka Police Department once warned women in the area not to take the elevator alone with men, after one person was sexually harrased while taking the elevator with a man at an apartment complex in Naniwa, Osaka (Japan) March 5, 2016.
However, according to the website Japantoday, this warning by the Osaka police received much opposition from Internet users in Japan.
Specifically, netizens' comments indicated that it is difficult to avoid taking the elevator alone with men, and that the police are trying to push responsibility for the victim.
"If you want to prevent crime, make notices to help control these attacks," one person commented.
Another said that it won't be long before women-only lifts, like female passenger trains, are present in many cities in Japan. These trains themselves are a controversial issue. So the question here is: how to prevent this kind of incident?
The Hiroshima police department, who gave similar advice about not taking an elevator alone with a man suggested that, when she sees a strange man planning to take the elevator with her, the woman should leave him alone. Go ahead, and I'll take the elevator later.
They also advise that when they get home, women should call their family members downstairs to pick them up to avoid bad situations happening.
However, Kazuko Hirakawa, president of the Sexual Assault Resource Center in Tokyo (SARC), warns that such advice could cause public opinion to blame the victim, even the victim to blame herself, instead of accusing their assailants.
The Osaka Police Department later gave an explanation to its tweet: “We do everything we can in our power and arrest suspects of sexual assault, using a variety of ways to stop them. This crime happens, and assists the victims. Regarding the tweet regarding sexual harassment in the elevator, it is merely a precaution for women, not a requirement if they want to protect themselves. Because Twitter limits the number of words per post, we cannot fully explain. "
Hirakawa said SARC does not encourage such warnings, "because not all men are scary people." She said that installing crime warning systems and surveillance cameras in the elevator is a more practical measure.
(According to vietnamplus.vn)
