Japanese high school girls wear badges warning would-be train gropers: ‘I’m not going to take it! · Global Voices
▻https://globalvoices.org/2018/05/16/japanese-high-school-girls-wear-badges-warning-would-be-train-gropers-
A campaign in Japan aimed at high school girls provides special tin buttons for them to wear while riding the train to deter groping and other forms of sexual assault.
The Chikan Prevention Activities Center (痴漢抑止活動センター) organizes the campaign, which is in its third year. The word Japanese word “chikan” is used to describe both the act of groping as well as the gropers themselves.
The buttons feature a variety of messages that remind readers that chikan is a crime and that the wearer will not endure the assault quietly.
痴漢抑止バッジが目指すのは、意志の“見える化”。情報を見せて加害者に「痴漢行為をやめる」という行動を取らせます。傍観者には「守ろう」という意識が生まれます。▻https://t.co/PsijRI4LEi #立ちあがれJK pic.twitter.com/qaaM56bbcT
— 痴漢抑止活動センター＠公式 (@scb_info) May 10, 2018
The aim of the “chikan deterrent button” is show how much [the people wearing it] hate chikan. It’s an effort to make potential chikans to understand they must stop sexual harassment and sexual assault.
For women who commute by train, chikan is unfortunately common. According to the Japan Times: