Breaking the silence on sexual harassment: understanding victims’ perceptions in Japan

Despite recent legal reforms, the concept of sexual harassment remains unclear in Japan. The current legal framework only covers incidents in workplaces, leaving victims outside the work environment without adequate protection. Despite the rising public awareness, a significant gap persists in understanding how victims process and respond to their experiences of sexual harassment. To gain a deeper understanding of victims’ experiences and how they make sense of their reactions to sexual harassment, we performed a qualitative study with 12 participants who had experienced sexual harassment at one point in their lives in Japan. Our findings revealed that some of the Japanese participants chose to remain non-confrontational in response to sexually abusive acts, while the non-Japanese participants preferred to take direct action. The power imbalance created by hierarchy, the participants’ adherence to the concepts of Wa (social harmony) and Gaman (endurance), and the deficiencies in the legislative system seemed to discourage them from seeking justice, which in turn allowed the perpetrators to avoid accountability. Considering these factors, there is a clear need to establish a more comprehensive and transparent legal framework that protects victims of sexual harassment and abuse in all contexts and encourages them to come forward with confidence, knowing that such acts will be addressed by law enforcement.