AnimeSuki Forums

BWTraveller · 2021-06-04, 11:07

I've seen a fair number of stories that deal with rape, molestation, sexual assault and other such crimes, and I've noticed some tendencies. This's more of a matter of asking how this compares to how the Japanese actually deal with such crimes typically.

Specifically, while train molesters are caught maybe half the time, other types of sexual crime seem to rarely end in arrest or trial. Most of the time, the perpetrator is simply driven away. Some cases you just have them disappear. For instance, in Bitter Virgin when Hinako's mother finally recognizes that her husband had been raping her daughter she chases him out of the house with a big knife and we never hear from him again. On the other hand, some actually do look at the reasons to some extent.

One issue seems to be family shame. In one volume of Naisho no Tsubomi, a girl's tutor/cousin has been harassing her, maybe trying to groom her, and when her parents finally understand what's happened they cut ties with him but the girl's father rejects the idea of pressing charges due to the shame it'd bring to the family.

Another that I've seen come up a few times though is practically an inversion of the reasoning I often see in America and the West in general. Whereas most Western series seem to put a lot of stress on accusing one's attacker as a way to heal, there seems to be an impression in Japan that such actions would only further hurt the victim. In Chisa X Pon, following her rape Chisa's mother is unwilling to push for charges because she worries that forcing Chisa to relive the experience and go through harsh cross-examination and all sorts of stress like that would only deepen her scars, and goes on to say that she believes Chisa herself doesn't want it. In Kakene Nashi no LOVE Torihiki, it's even more explicitly dealt with, as the heroine finds the cop who she talks to acts like she's making it up, or like her moderately attractive outfit was somehow an invitation/implied consent, even though the guy pulled a knife to keep her from screaming. She later comments that the skeptical reception of police officers, the stress of reliving the experience on the stand, the harsh questioning, the public view, all of these things together have come to be referred to as "second rape".

I've tried to look this stuff up, or to ask people in Japan for their thoughts, and honestly I haven't been able to find much of anything. Thus I was just wondering how well this represents the Japanese culture's take on things, as well as whether this is treated differently in any series I haven't read.

Key Board · 2021-06-04, 18:52

police skepticism toward rape reports is not uncommon in the US.

I guess the problem is universal

//

Kanon · 2021-06-05, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Key Board

police skepticism toward rape reports is not uncommon in the US.

I guess the problem is universal

//

I recommend the excellent mini-series Unbelievable. The events depicted in the series are as unbelievable as the title suggest, yet it is based on a true story (and I believe they were very faithful).

And yes, the problem is universal. A lot of what you said apply to Western societies as well. Perhaps not the "it will shame the family" mentality, but everything else does. Although women are encouraged to speak up, it is extremely hard for them to do so and that's the reason a lot of them take decades to talk about it.

BWTraveller · 2021-06-05, 19:21

I'm sorry but I find it a little hard to buy that it's "universal". Victims' tendencies, yes obviously, but the society's general view on what the victims should do, not from what I can tell. At the very least it's not universal in its portrayal in media. Any and every story I've seen from Western media that dealt with these crimes put a huge emphasis on actually pressing charges and the catharsis of confronting one's attacker as a part of recovery (to the point that it seems like it's treated sometimes as a crucial step to any recovery), whereas again in almost all anime/manga I've criminal charges have been deliberately avoided, either to avoid shame from having a rapist in one's household or to avoid putting the victim through what they view as a second round of victimization. That's what I was asking about. I fully appreciate that victims have similar tendencies anywhere, but the stories I'd seen suggested that the cultures had differing views on what should and shouldn't be done. Seriously, I've seen maybe one story where the victim is actually shown pressing charges.

0cean · 2021-06-06, 08:12

I struggle to even come up with a western movie addressing rape. Maybe Forrest Gump? But I don't think the girl ever confronted her father about it.

Maybe that's also why rape charges turn out to be faked so often, since real victims would naturally be inhibited to come forth. Also, since I can already hear "citation needed", here are some:

Spoiler for List of URLs:

BWTraveller · 2021-06-06, 12:09

There are plenty of movies, and far more TV shows. Most are either drama or mystery/crime stories. If you only look at the most mainstream movies then sure, there are not too many, but in general I've seen lots. There's even crime TV series entirely built around it (see Law & Order SVU), which are particularly hard on the idea that recovery practically has to involve confronting the rapist. Understandable, since they'd have a lot of difficulty if the victims never agreed to press charges and actually go to court. I don't entirely disagree with the concept myself; I do believe that recognizing what's happened is crucial to healing, and confronting the source of one's fears can help one to overcome them or at least gain a sense that one can deal with such things. There's also a TV series called Veronica Mars where for a while at least a part of the plot is the main character trying to find the man who'd drugged her, stolen her virginity, then left before she woke up. I also recall a movie based on a major YA novel in which the heroine was rendered mute until she worked up the courage to denounce a popular student for raping her.

But again, this isn't really about how Western media treats rape, or the prevalence of false accusations (which most certainly do occur, and sometimes at least partly get away with it). It's about how anime, manga, and general Japanese media treats the matter of what is done and what should be done, and how that reflects the reality of what is done or what people in Japan feel should be done when such cases occur.

0cean · 2021-06-06, 13:12

I feel that it's more to do with what type of genre your dealing with. In horror movies, for example, the rapists tend to just get killed by the big bad.

Going for a confrontation within a show and going through the legal system would drag on, so unless that's the point of a show or movie, there's little reason to portray it that way, if you can get your resolution easier.

BWTraveller · 2021-06-06, 14:01

Well, dramas I've seen in which it happens and which deal with the victim's experiences after differ along these exact lines: in Western works the people around them tend to encourage them to seek justice and the general path taken tends to be just that, while in Japan the victim simply tries to move on and justice is never pursued (again, I've seen maybe one story where the girl actually sought to press charges, and it was made such a big deal that the story actually ended with her heading to the police station). The Western shows may not actually go through the whole trial (though there are those that do, sometimes with a focus on the legal side or the difficulty of getting a verdict and other times with a focus on the personal struggle and the catharsis of seeing the perp arrested), but accusation is almost constant. Though yeah, if it's a story where death by other means is a high possibility it's hardly uncommon to see him kick the bucket instead of getting arrested.

0cean · 2021-06-06, 15:11

What are some American works where the victim chooses confrontation?

Kanon · 2021-06-06, 18:08

I think you'd pretty much need to read the report of someone who has done extensive research on the subject to know what it's really like. Fiction can be a good mirror of society, but it isn't always.

BWTraveller · 2021-06-06, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kanon

I think you'd pretty much need to read the report of someone who has done extensive research on the subject to know what it's really like. Fiction can be a good mirror of society, but it isn't always.

That's pretty much it exactly: I want to know how well it reflects here. I've tried to look for reports or documents from people who've really researched it, and I've pulled a blank.

As for specific Western stories about victims confronting their assailants, I'd have to look back a bit. For starters, of course, you could look at SVU and any other law-enforcement/legal series dealing with such crimes.

0cean · 2021-06-07, 06:49

Well, yeah, if the point of the show is law-enforcement, not having the victim come forth isn't an option. But if you go to other genres, I can't really think of American movies where rapists are confronted in court. It doesn't happen in Forrest Gump and it doesn't happen in Sleepers (1996), despite that moving being about a trial. It only comes to light eventually as part of the murder trial. But that was thirteen years after the abuse in that movie. Taxi Driver (1976) also doesn't have the victim confront her abusers. None of the American media I can think of does.

And by the way, the anime Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (2010) is basically the same story as Sleepers (1996), but taking place in Japan and it plays out about the same, which is why I keep suspecting, that there isn't actually a big difference in media depiction of rape between Japan and the USA. It's just that there are no anime with a focus on going to court, like there are in the US. Maybe there are J-Dramas like that, though.

TinyRedLeaf · 2021-06-07, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0cean

Taxi Driver (1976) also doesn't have the victim confront her abusers. None of the American media I can think of does.

I find it ironic that you'd mention Taxi Driver, starring Jodie Foster when she was a child, and forget that she later went on to star in The Accused (1988). (Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in the movie, by the way.)

YouTube

https://youtu.be/UosooArsSGg

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That said, yes, the broad point is generally valid. There isn't much exploration about the motivations for, and the harms from, rape in entertainment media, in general, anywhere in the world, not just in Japan.

I happen to think, though, that the general level of misogyny in Japan is so pervasive that it's not surprising that rape is seemingly "normalised" in media entertainment there. That's a much wider topic that I don't know enough about to comment on extensively.

BWTraveller · 2021-06-07, 16:58

It's not just legal drama, more like any drama I've seen where rape is the core of the story. If there's someone who was (possibly) a victim, like in Forrest Gump for example, then yeah we're not often given explicit information as to what happened. On the other hand when the rape is core to the story the rapist pretty much always ends up being publicly denounced. True, not all have a focus on the accusation. For instance, in the 2004 independent movie Speak that I mentioned a while ago, the girl who almost completely stopped talking didn't directly denounce him, but rather only told her best friend when said friend started dating the bastard. That said, it was only after the events came to light and he was charged that she got her voice back properly. A lot of the dramas that deal directly with it are smaller movies, like made-for-TV type stuff, so I don't know if you'd recognize them even if I remembered their names. That said, I honestly can't remember a story here where they dealt with what happened to the rapist and he wasn't confronted (or the fact that he wasn't charged is seen as a problem, like he's still out there), while I can't really find manga stories where they make any mention of the aftermath and it actually involves pressing charges, aside again from the one manga where her pressing charges was kind of a core point.

0cean · 2021-06-07, 17:43

I still think you're trying to compare apples with oranges. If the genre is the same, it will play out about the same, no matter whether it is an American movie or an anime. Like I mentioned, Sleepers (1996) and Rainbow (2010) are basically the exact same story. But one is from an American perspective and the other from a Japanese one.

Also, I remembered another American movie containing rape where there's not exactly a confrontation: The General's Daughter (1999).

@TinyRedLeaf: I didn't know a movie by the name of The Accused exists. Or maybe I watched it and completely forgot. Either way, I have no impression of the title.

BWTraveller · 2021-06-07, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0cean

I still think you're trying to compare apples with oranges. If the genre is the same, it will play out about the same, no matter whether it is an American movie or an anime. Like I mentioned, Sleepers (1996) and Rainbow (2010) are basically the exact same story. But one is from an American perspective and the other from a Japanese one.

Also, I remembered another American movie containing rape where there's not exactly a confrontation: The General's Daughter (1999).

@TinyRedLeaf: I didn't know a movie by the name of The Accused exists. Or maybe I watched it and completely forgot. Either way, I have no impression of the title.

Again, while you say "it'll play out the same", in my experience it does not. I've seen tons of stories where a big emphasis is put on working up the courage to press charges or openly reveal what happened, either for personal catharsis or to protect others. I do agree that it's not really something that's covered that frequently, and it very well may be that mainstream media (like LA movies) are more similar from one side to the other. All I know is that in the stories I've seen the impression given about what "should" be done is that the rapist should be charged and put away, while in manga and anime the prevalent position seems to be that litigation should be avoided. I don't deny that both positions exist wherever you go. Victims are often likely to lean very strong one way or another, though usually on the side of wanting to avoid reporting or even acknowledging the incident. It just felt to me like "let's do nothing about it" is unusual and frowned upon here while "let's press charges and have the attacker put away" is a rather novel idea there (again, the one manga I read where it was done it was made very clear just how big of a deal it was that she was going to do it). I may have to watch that Rainbow sometime, since as I've said within the narrow range of fiction dealing with this subject matter I've seen next to nothing from manga and other Japanese works with that sort of position.

But anyway, I'm not really looking for declarations of "Western media does it too" or "Japan has stuff that does it that way" or anything like that. Honestly I don't even care whether it's universal or not, I just wondered if there were any real information about the common Japanese views on the matter and how the manga I'd mentioned compare to said views.

TinyRedLeaf · 2021-06-08, 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

I'm not really looking for declarations of "Western media does it too" or "Japan has stuff that does it that way" or anything like that. Honestly I don't even care whether it's universal or not, I just wondered if there were any real information about the common Japanese views on the matter and how the manga I'd mentioned compare to said views.

I don't mean to be rude, but I would put it bluntly that the onus is on you to find out what you can first, rather than throwing out a wide-open topic with a poorly defined angle.

So, let me put on my editorial hat, and walk you through the process the way I would with any rookie reporter:

What you're asking for, really, is something that will be very hard to analyse in concrete terms, without reference to relevant numbers and statistics. A casual search on Google brings up a handful of potentially useful journal articles which unfortunately are not open for public browsing. The Japan Times used to be my go-to source of English-language news on Japan, but the paper has since put up a paywall, so I can't use it any more, either.

But, if you're persisent, and clever with with your search terms, I don't see how you can't eventually find relevant information to build a case with.

Five minutes of googling brought up this article from The Mainichi:

Rape cases rise 27% in Japan in first half of year after law change

The article tells me a few things:

1) Rape cases in Japan rose sharply in 2018.

2) The police believe that changes in the definition of sexual intercourse, and the expansion of the law to cover more victims have played a part in the report increase.

3) The penal code revision took effect in July 2017. (Follow-up question, what did the rape figures look like in previous years?)

Specific to point 2), the Japanese term for rape was changed to one that translates directly into "forced sexual intercourse". (That's pretty incredible. What other definition could there be for rape?) The changes also eliminated the need for victims to file a criminal complaint before a case can be prosecuted. Very interestingly, the definition of rape was also broadened to include male victims.

This all implies that the Japanese penal code was likely quite archaic to begin with, and more than likely misogynistic to boot.

Also, within my first five minutes of googling, I found this on CNN:

She won a civil case against her alleged rapist. But Japan's rape laws need an overhaul, campaigners say

Choice quotes from the article include:

Quote:

Shiori Ito shocked Japan in 2017 by going public with her accusations — an unusual move in a country where it is estimated that more than 95 per cent of sexual assault victims never report their rape to police, according to a 2017 survey by the cabinet office of Japan's central government.

Even if women do go on the record, they may face other hurdles, including police attempting to discourage them from reporting the crime.

Given that, it's not uncommon for Japanese women to pursue civil cases, but many settle out of court, said Kazuko Ito, a lawyer and the secretary-general of Japanese NGO Human Rights Now.

The above, at the very least, corroborates with your general impression of the Japanese view of rape, and how it's investigated and prosecuted. It also gives you a further lead to chase: Human Rights Now. Is this NGO still around? Does it have a website? Has its spokespersons said anything further about rape culture in Japan?

All in all, my polite advice is: Do some homework on your own first. Public information isn't difficult to find and, frankly, the rest of us on this forum isn't likely to know any better. So, you're really better off doing some preliminary research first, then present what you've found, and give us your take on what you make of the information.

Don't get me wrong. This is a very good topic, and you ask very good questions. But it's hardly fair to expect others to do the legwork for you, when the preliminary aspects of it, at least, isn't too hard to do on your own.

0cean · 2021-06-08, 04:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

Again, while you say "it'll play out the same", in my experience it does not.
[...]
and it very well may be that mainstream media (like LA movies) are more similar from one side to the other.

I seem to be the only one mentioning concrete examples of general American media and ones that contradict your experience, too, so maybe you could name examples of your own? And not just the ones that by design need to have this confrontation.

Also, Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin isn't a mainstream movie, but a 26 episode long anime drama series.

TinyRedLeaf · 2021-06-09, 07:19

I've finally got some spare time, so I dug a little bit more into the subject. It just happens to be one of those topics that I tend to get very emotionally invested in.

Going back to the OP, "I was just wondering how well this represents the Japanese culture's take on things, as well as whether this is treated differently in any series I haven't read."

I can't speak for the breadth of manga and anime portrayal of rape and other sexual crimes, since I don't watch nor read anywhere near enough of such material to have an authoritative say on the matter. But I think it's easily possible to get a more informed opinion on Japanese attitudes towards rape and sex crimes.

From there, one can draw his or her own conclusions about whether fiction reflects fact and vice versa.

(1)
For starters, I do know that rape — especially violent rape involving young teens and even children — is extremely common in pornographic manga and anime. So, let's get that out of the way first.

I have no idea why the US Department of Justice — of all things — took an interest in this. But it did, and it published a journal article on it.

Pornography, Rape, and Sex Crimes in Japan

A few noteworthy points from the journal's abstract:

1) The number and availability of sexually explicit materials increased in Japan over the years 1972-95.

2) At the same time, the incidence of rape declined from 4,677 cases with 5,464 offenders in 1972, to 1,500 cases with 1,160 offenders in 1995. The number of rapes committed by juveniles also markedly decreased.

3) The DOJ said the "findings were similar to those in Denmark, Sweden, and West Germany. Findings were also consistent with what is known about property crime rates in Japan".

4) The DOJ went on to conclude: "The data makes clear that a massive increase in available pornography in Japan has been correlated with a marked decrease in sex offences, particularly among juveniles as perpetrators or victims."

So... my guess would be that some policymaker at the DOJ wanted a case study on whether an increase in pornography can be correlated with an increase in rape and sex crimes. And the data appears to say, no, there is no apparent link.

Hmm.

(2)
Can we take the official data on rape and sex crimes in Japan at face value? That's where the problems and doubts begin.

Current Status of Sex Crimes and Measures for the Victims in Japan (published in 2011)

Quote:

By Kazumi Ogasawara

Statistical data on sex crimes

Victims of sex crimes are subject to misunderstanding and bias, and they find it difficult to confide to someone. This means that many cases are not reported, limiting our ability to use statistics to accurately understand the real situation of sex crimes.

According to the police report on various crimestatistics between 2000 and 2009 in Japan, the annual average was 2,177.9 for rape and rape at the scene of a robbery, and 8,396.7 for forcible indecency,

That is roughly equivalent to 10,000 cases per year.

In 2009 alone, there were 1,512 acknowledged cases of rape and rape at the scene of a robbery, and 6,688 cases of forcible indecency, of which minors were the primary victims in 629 (41.6%) and 3,508 (52.5%) cases, respectively.

Overall minors were the primary victim in only 20% of criminal offences. But about 50% of forcible indecency cases victimised minors. This demonstrates that many sex crimes victimise minors.

In over 40% (43.6%) of the rape cases brought to trial in 2008, the crime was committed by an acquaintance. Indeed, people who should be in a protective role — such as parents and teachers, continue to perpetrate sex crimes.

The above alone makes for some damning reading. If nothing else, it should give anyone in this forum some pause, to reflect on the extent to which it is acceptable to turn a blind eye towards the overt sexualisation of child characters in anime and manga.

Yes, there is no clear link between sexually provocative and suggestive art, and the actual rate of sex crimes. But, in the wake of all that we've learnt from the global #MeToo movement, I do hope that more consumers of manga and anime, especially the youth, would start asking serious questions about the extent to which such sexually explicit content normalises such fantasies.

To what extent is that acceptable?

More from Ogasawara's article:

Quote:

Sex crimes not reflected in statistics

The Japanese Ministry of Justice conducts a status survey on unreported crime victimisations. In the third survey conducted in 2008, 36,000 men and women over the age of 16 were surveyed, to which 3,717 responded.

Of those, 2.0% reported that they had been the victim of a sexual offence in the past 5 years, but the immediate reporting rate was 13.3%.

(My note: In other words, there appeared to be severe under-reporting of sexual offences by victims. Significantly less than one in five reported the offence immediately after suffering sexual assault.)

Twenty per cent of sex crime victims were sexually assaulted in middle school or earlier (!!)

Why these dismal statistics? Well, it appears to be because it was difficult to prosecute sexual abuse in Japan.

Quote:

It is particularly difficult to prosecute sexual abuse. The younger the victims, the less likely they are to resist their victimisation, succumbing to physical strength and verbal pressure from adults or beguiled by deftly (sic) words.

Since there are limits to younger people's understanding, the statute of limitations may expire before they can even understand that they have been the victims of crime.

Even if the mother living in the house notices what is happening, she may rather protect her husband (the perpetrator) and not exercise the right to pursue charges, allowing the statue of limitations to run out.

Efforts for victim protection in the courts

Anxiety over a trial is one reason that the victims hesitate to report crimes to the police. But currently, the victim's name can remain anonymous in the courtroom, and a video-link system has been adopted to allow the victim to give testimony without ever showing his/her face. As such, victim protection has improved markedly.

So, this is the apparent picture:

1) Rape and sex crimes may be much more prevalent in Japan than official figures suggest.

2) Minors make up a significant proportion of the victims of rape and sex crimes.

3) It was traumatic enough for adults to report being the victims of sex crimes, let alone for children. And it was not until recently that the investigation and prosecution process was reformed such that victims can report the crime and stay anonymous. This is crucial for ensuring that the victims don't become re-victimised by having the re-live and recount the drama in front of a courtroom full of strangers.

4) But for minors, it's even worse. The situation for child victims of sex crimes and rape can be vile, especially when the attacker is a parent. Perhaps out of shame, and not wanting to draw attention to the scandal, the other parent may even become an accomplice to the crime by keeping it hidden.

There are a couple more sobering stories I found, but I'll edit them for this thread at a later time.

0cean · 2021-06-09, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

4) The DOJ went on to conclude: "The data makes clear that a massive increase in available pornography in Japan has been correlated with a marked decrease in sex offences, particularly among juveniles as perpetrators or victims."

[...]

to reflect on the extent to which it is acceptable to turn a blind eye towards the overt sexualisation of child characters in anime and manga.

So first, you're establishing that more porn equals less rape, but then you go on to say we should be wary of sexualization of children in anime? That's some impressive mental gymnastics.

If anything, this tells us that possession of child pornography should be legalized, since then the actual child rape would decrease.

But I guess the following is true:

Images

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2021-06-04, 11:07	Link #1
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	How rape is dealt with in anime/manga I've seen a fair number of stories that deal with rape, molestation, sexual assault and other such crimes, and I've noticed some tendencies. This's more of a matter of asking how this compares to how the Japanese actually deal with such crimes typically. Specifically, while train molesters are caught maybe half the time, other types of sexual crime seem to rarely end in arrest or trial. Most of the time, the perpetrator is simply driven away. Some cases you just have them disappear. For instance, in Bitter Virgin when Hinako's mother finally recognizes that her husband had been raping her daughter she chases him out of the house with a big knife and we never hear from him again. On the other hand, some actually do look at the reasons to some extent. One issue seems to be family shame. In one volume of Naisho no Tsubomi, a girl's tutor/cousin has been harassing her, maybe trying to groom her, and when her parents finally understand what's happened they cut ties with him but the girl's father rejects the idea of pressing charges due to the shame it'd bring to the family. Another that I've seen come up a few times though is practically an inversion of the reasoning I often see in America and the West in general. Whereas most Western series seem to put a lot of stress on accusing one's attacker as a way to heal, there seems to be an impression in Japan that such actions would only further hurt the victim. In Chisa X Pon, following her rape Chisa's mother is unwilling to push for charges because she worries that forcing Chisa to relive the experience and go through harsh cross-examination and all sorts of stress like that would only deepen her scars, and goes on to say that she believes Chisa herself doesn't want it. In Kakene Nashi no LOVE Torihiki, it's even more explicitly dealt with, as the heroine finds the cop who she talks to acts like she's making it up, or like her moderately attractive outfit was somehow an invitation/implied consent, even though the guy pulled a knife to keep her from screaming. She later comments that the skeptical reception of police officers, the stress of reliving the experience on the stand, the harsh questioning, the public view, all of these things together have come to be referred to as "second rape". I've tried to look this stuff up, or to ask people in Japan for their thoughts, and honestly I haven't been able to find much of anything. Thus I was just wondering how well this represents the Japanese culture's take on things, as well as whether this is treated differently in any series I haven't read.

2021-06-04, 18:52	Link #2
Key Board Carbon Join Date: Nov 2003	police skepticism toward rape reports is not uncommon in the US. I guess the problem is universal // __________________ "Legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice—that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.” Malcolm Gladwell

2021-06-06, 08:12	Link #5
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	I struggle to even come up with a western movie addressing rape. Maybe Forrest Gump? But I don't think the girl ever confronted her father about it. Maybe that's also why rape charges turn out to be faked so often, since real victims would naturally be inhibited to come forth. Also, since I can already hear "citation needed", here are some: Spoiler for List of URLs: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/m...m-2225627.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eliza...-lie_n_3784718 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...re/8466096.stm https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...se-rape-claim/ http://www.breakingworldnewstoday.co.../05-b3197.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...alf-years.html https://eu.coloradoan.com/story/news...hoax/17841039/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ared-jail.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tims-life.html https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/970...avoids-prison/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biurny-...isnt-laughing/ https://www.theguardian.com/society/...ms-jemma-beale __________________

2021-06-06, 13:12	Link #7
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	I feel that it's more to do with what type of genre your dealing with. In horror movies, for example, the rapists tend to just get killed by the big bad. Going for a confrontation within a show and going through the legal system would drag on, so unless that's the point of a show or movie, there's little reason to portray it that way, if you can get your resolution easier. __________________

2021-06-06, 18:08	Link #10
Kanon Kana Hanazawa ♥ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: France Age: 37	I think you'd pretty much need to read the report of someone who has done extensive research on the subject to know what it's really like. Fiction can be a good mirror of society, but it isn't always. __________________

2021-06-05, 19:21	Link #4
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	I'm sorry but I find it a little hard to buy that it's "universal". Victims' tendencies, yes obviously, but the society's general view on what the victims should do, not from what I can tell. At the very least it's not universal in its portrayal in media. Any and every story I've seen from Western media that dealt with these crimes put a huge emphasis on actually pressing charges and the catharsis of confronting one's attacker as a part of recovery (to the point that it seems like it's treated sometimes as a crucial step to any recovery), whereas again in almost all anime/manga I've criminal charges have been deliberately avoided, either to avoid shame from having a rapist in one's household or to avoid putting the victim through what they view as a second round of victimization. That's what I was asking about. I fully appreciate that victims have similar tendencies anywhere, but the stories I'd seen suggested that the cultures had differing views on what should and shouldn't be done. Seriously, I've seen maybe one story where the victim is actually shown pressing charges.

2021-06-06, 12:09	Link #6
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	There are plenty of movies, and far more TV shows. Most are either drama or mystery/crime stories. If you only look at the most mainstream movies then sure, there are not too many, but in general I've seen lots. There's even crime TV series entirely built around it (see Law & Order SVU), which are particularly hard on the idea that recovery practically has to involve confronting the rapist. Understandable, since they'd have a lot of difficulty if the victims never agreed to press charges and actually go to court. I don't entirely disagree with the concept myself; I do believe that recognizing what's happened is crucial to healing, and confronting the source of one's fears can help one to overcome them or at least gain a sense that one can deal with such things. There's also a TV series called Veronica Mars where for a while at least a part of the plot is the main character trying to find the man who'd drugged her, stolen her virginity, then left before she woke up. I also recall a movie based on a major YA novel in which the heroine was rendered mute until she worked up the courage to denounce a popular student for raping her. But again, this isn't really about how Western media treats rape, or the prevalence of false accusations (which most certainly do occur, and sometimes at least partly get away with it). It's about how anime, manga, and general Japanese media treats the matter of what is done and what should be done, and how that reflects the reality of what is done or what people in Japan feel should be done when such cases occur.

2021-06-06, 14:01	Link #8
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	Well, dramas I've seen in which it happens and which deal with the victim's experiences after differ along these exact lines: in Western works the people around them tend to encourage them to seek justice and the general path taken tends to be just that, while in Japan the victim simply tries to move on and justice is never pursued (again, I've seen maybe one story where the girl actually sought to press charges, and it was made such a big deal that the story actually ended with her heading to the police station). The Western shows may not actually go through the whole trial (though there are those that do, sometimes with a focus on the legal side or the difficulty of getting a verdict and other times with a focus on the personal struggle and the catharsis of seeing the perp arrested), but accusation is almost constant. Though yeah, if it's a story where death by other means is a high possibility it's hardly uncommon to see him kick the bucket instead of getting arrested.

2021-06-06, 15:11	Link #9
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	What are some American works where the victim chooses confrontation?

2021-06-07, 06:49	Link #12
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	Well, yeah, if the point of the show is law-enforcement, not having the victim come forth isn't an option. But if you go to other genres, I can't really think of American movies where rapists are confronted in court. It doesn't happen in Forrest Gump and it doesn't happen in Sleepers (1996), despite that moving being about a trial. It only comes to light eventually as part of the murder trial. But that was thirteen years after the abuse in that movie. Taxi Driver (1976) also doesn't have the victim confront her abusers. None of the American media I can think of does. And by the way, the anime Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (2010) is basically the same story as Sleepers (1996), but taking place in Japan and it plays out about the same, which is why I keep suspecting, that there isn't actually a big difference in media depiction of rape between Japan and the USA. It's just that there are no anime with a focus on going to court, like there are in the US. Maybe there are J-Dramas like that, though. __________________

2021-06-07, 16:58	Link #14
BWTraveller Born to ship Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Texas	It's not just legal drama, more like any drama I've seen where rape is the core of the story. If there's someone who was (possibly) a victim, like in Forrest Gump for example, then yeah we're not often given explicit information as to what happened. On the other hand when the rape is core to the story the rapist pretty much always ends up being publicly denounced. True, not all have a focus on the accusation. For instance, in the 2004 independent movie Speak that I mentioned a while ago, the girl who almost completely stopped talking didn't directly denounce him, but rather only told her best friend when said friend started dating the bastard. That said, it was only after the events came to light and he was charged that she got her voice back properly. A lot of the dramas that deal directly with it are smaller movies, like made-for-TV type stuff, so I don't know if you'd recognize them even if I remembered their names. That said, I honestly can't remember a story here where they dealt with what happened to the rapist and he wasn't confronted (or the fact that he wasn't charged is seen as a problem, like he's still out there), while I can't really find manga stories where they make any mention of the aftermath and it actually involves pressing charges, aside again from the one manga where her pressing charges was kind of a core point.

2021-06-07, 17:43	Link #15
0cean Transfer Adventurer Join Date: Oct 2017	I still think you're trying to compare apples with oranges. If the genre is the same, it will play out about the same, no matter whether it is an American movie or an anime. Like I mentioned, Sleepers (1996) and Rainbow (2010) are basically the exact same story. But one is from an American perspective and the other from a Japanese one. Also, I remembered another American movie containing rape where there's not exactly a confrontation: The General's Daughter (1999). @TinyRedLeaf: I didn't know a movie by the name of The Accused exists. Or maybe I watched it and completely forgot. Either way, I have no impression of the title. __________________