Activists campaign to help prostitutes and sex workers with stalkers

A civilian group has been formed for dealing with the problem of stalking among sex workers.

Following several high-profile murders, the issue of stalking by men in Japan has been big news recently.

The creation of SWASH in Osaka would be important in that respect alone but it’s actually aimed at helping protect the working environments of sex workers, which is very rare. Although prostitution per se is not illegal in Japan — only profiting from prostitution — it is nonetheless almost unheard of for sex workers to be acknowledged in this way.

However, prostitutes working in Japan’s fuzuoku (sex clubs, everything from a handjob or blow job parlor to a soapland or full-out brothel) are at risk of attracting stalkers and yet it is also much harder for them to press charges due to their profession. (It is rare to see prostitutes soliciting on the streets, though. Typically those that you can see, such as in Dogenzaka in Shibuya, are Chinese.)

According to the police, other people at risk include doctors and celebrities. Of the latter, Mitsu Dan and Nanao have suffered from stalker fans recently. There has been a increase of stalking cases of 53% since 2012, a jump of 1,103 cases. However, the actual number is likely much higher since sex workers will often not report stalking to the authorities.

Police say there were some 21,000 cases of “damage” caused by stalkers and some 49,000 cases of domestic violence in 2013. Both are new records for Japan. These issues are not going away.

Over half of stalking cases are said to involve a former lover or partner, over 10% a friend or acquaintance, and 9% a colleague or someone from your workplace.