90% of child abuse, sexual crime victims received no compensation
May 17, 2018 (Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — More than 90 percent of child abuse and sexual crime victims and their bereaved families received no compensation from the assailants or public financial assistance, police data showed Thursday.
The National Police Agency analyzed the answers of 917 respondents who said they were crime victims or bereaved families of victims in an online survey targeting men and women aged 20 or older in late January.
The survey, conducted with the aim of following up with victims and reflecting their situations in state policies, covered six types of crimes; violent crimes such as murder and assault, sexual crimes, traffic accidents, domestic violence, stalking and child abuse.
According to the data, the proportion of victims who received no compensation or financial aid stood at 94.2 percent in child abuse cases, followed by sexual crimes at 92.9 percent, domestic violence at 91.1 percent and stalking at 90.2 percent.
The state provides lump sum benefits for bereaved families of crime victims or those who were seriously injured or disabled in criminal cases upon request.
Many respondents also said they did not report their cases to the police and an NPA official believes a lot of victims are compelled to suffer silently and tend to go unnoticed.
As for traffic accidents, only 35.4 percent of the respondents said they received no money in compensation or aid, reflecting the use of private insurance. The figure stood at 78.7 percent for murder and assault cases.
The survey also revealed only a small proportion of victims used support programs such as police counseling and phone consultation services provided by private support organizations.
In child abuse cases, 87.1 percent said they did not use such services. The figure stood at more than 60 percent in the five other crime categories.
Asked about necessary support shortly after becoming victims, more than 30 percent said they needed someone to talk to and consult with but 80.7 percent said they did not know about consultation services offered by municipal governments or other organizations.
Only 7 percent said they were aware of support services before they were victimized.
In the multiple answer survey section, 38.6 percent of the respondents said they did not consult with anyone, with 22.8 percent citing not knowing whom to consult with and 19.7 percent stating their reluctance to disclose their situation as reasons behind this.
“Although counseling services are spreading, their profile remains low. We want to raise awareness about such programs,” the official said.
The survey was conducted between Jan. 19 and 28.
