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Japan reports more than 1,300 harassment cases in its military
By Clyde Hughes
A new report said that more than 1,300 harassment complaints had been filed in Japan's military.
File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A special inspection report released on Friday said there were 1,325 harassment reports in the Japanese Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces but nearly 65% of the victims did not seek help.
The Defense Ministry said the harassment survey was conducted in the ministry and all organizations after the sexual harassment complaint by former Japan Ground Self-Defense servicewoman Rina Gonoi.
In many cases, the survey found that victims who did seek help from counselors had received problematic responses. It said that eight senior officials and others that the investigation found engaged in harassment so far have been punished, including 12-month suspensions.
The survey revealed that many victims felt hopelessness in receiving a positive outcome from their complaint. Some of the repeated comments made by victims were that "no improvement can be expected even if I talk to them," "I don't know who to talk to," and "the atmosphere and environment are not conducive to seeking counseling."
Other victims said they felt they would be retaliated against by the perpetrators or "whistle-blower hunters."
The investigation and survey started in September 2022 and were accompanied by recommendations from a panel of experts. Those recommendations called for increased training and education for officials in management positions, who are at higher risk of carrying out harassment.
They also called on the Defense Ministry to assure officials and SDF members that they will suffer no disadvantage if they come forward with their complaints.
There is no indication of child sexual abuse in this story, but, as Russians say, 'where there is honey, there will be flies'. With a million kids, you can bet there will be great swarms of flies.
In Canada, Residential Schools were abandoned several decades ago, and are a source of great shame. But China seems to think they are just what is needed to assimilate Tibetan kids into communism.
U.S. hits Chinese officials with entry bans over
forced assimilation of Tibetan children
By Darryl Coote
The Biden administration on Tuesday imposed visa bans on Chinese officials they say are
participating in a campaign to force the assimilation of some 1 million Tibetan children.
File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The Biden administration is imposing punitive measures against Chinese officials, banning them from entering the United States on accusations of being involved in the forced assimilation of more than 1 million Tibetan children.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the imposition of the visa resections against an undisclosed number of Chinese officials in a brief statement Tuesday.
"These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibet's distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans," he said.
"We urge [the People's Republic of China] authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts of the PRC."
In February, a panel of United Nations experts in minority issues, education and cultural rights produced a report stating some 1 million Tibetan minority children were forcibly separated from their parents and put into a residential school system to assimilate them culturally, religiously and linguistically into Chinese society.
The report said the children are forced to complete compulsory education curriculum in Mandarin Chinese without access to traditional or culturally relevant learning.
"As a result, Tibetan children are losing their facility with their native language and the ability to communicate easily with their parents and grandparents in the Tibetan language, which contributes to their assimilation and erosion of their identity," the experts said.
The imposition of the visa bans follows the Biden administration in December designating Wy Yingjie, party secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and Zhang Hongbo, director of the Tibetan Public Security Bureau, over their involvement in serious human rights abuses committed by the government in Tibet.
The move comes amid already sour relations between China and the United States as they compete for global influence.
For years, Washington has condemned and punished Beijing over its treatment of its minority citizens, in particular Uyghurs in northwestern Xinjiang Province. Since 2021, the United States has accused China of committing genocide against the Muslim minority population.
Quebec judge authorizes class action by Atikamekw women
alleging forced sterilizations
Lawyers believe more women will join lawsuit now that it can move forward
Verity Stevenson · CBC News ·
Posted: Aug 22, 2023 1:00 PM PDT | Last Updated: August 22
The two Atikamekw women leading the class action say they underwent procedures that impaired
their fertility without their informed consent. (Molly Riley/AP/The Canadian Press)
A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class action against three doctors accused of sterilizing Atikamekw women against their will.
One of the two women leading the class action — which is on behalf of all the women from the Atikamekw First Nation who allegedly didn't consent to a procedure that impaired their fertility — says she was sterilized without any knowledge of it happening beforehand.
The other woman said she succumbed to pressure from one of the three doctors before the procedure.
The women are not identified in the judgment released Monday by Justice Lukasz Granosik, due to the sensitivity of what they experienced, according to Léa Lemay Langlois, one of the lawyers representing them.
It was unclear to Lemay Langlois why the doctors were not identified by their full names, despite having been in previous public court filings.
The lawyer believes more victims could come forward as part of the lawsuit.
'A lot of trauma'
"It's very difficult for class members to come forward and talk about it. There is a lot of trauma and difficulty around it," she said, adding the collective nature of a class action could make it easier for some to seek justice for what happened to them.
The women say the life-altering procedures were a form of racism carried out in a context of systemic discrimination. They are seeking unspecified compensation for what they and their loved ones suffered as a result.
The class action initially sought to target the health board overseeing the hospital where the procedures took place, but Granosik only authorized the class action against the three doctors, one of whom died in 2019.
The group first made the request for the class action in November 2021. The case could take years to wind its way through the courts, as there is a grace period allowing defendants time to appeal and more plaintiffs could come forward.
A university study released late last year found there have been at least 22 cases of forced sterilization of First Nations and Inuit women in Quebec since 1980.
The allegations included in the class action have not been proven in court.
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