Japanese Parliament Passes Bill To Increase Support For Vulnerable Women - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2022) Japanese lawmakers have passed a bill providing for increased support and welfare for vulnerable women, including those living in poverty or exposed to domestic violence and sexual abuse, Japanese media reported on Thursday.

According to the Kyodo news agency, the decision was prompted by the opinion of various advocacy groups, which claim that the existing legislation based primarily on the 1956 anti-prostitution law is ill-suited to present-day realities.

In particular, Japanese women more frequently encounter such problems as poverty, sexual assault, physical and psychological abuse and depression, with suicide incidence also rising. In addition, violence against women has become even more prevalent worldwide in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, since many people have had to stay at home and suffer from abusers without any chance of escaping, Kyodo noted.

The new law is aimed at developing measures to protect disadvantaged women and provide them with the necessary employment and housing assistance in coordination with human rights organizations and non-governmental groups, the outlet said.

Japanese lawmakers also plan to revise provisions of the anti-prostitution law on counseling and shelters for women and to include them into the new legislation, the reports said.

The law is expected to go into effect in April 2024.