Female students and professors from six Tokyo universities, including the University of Tokyo and Sophia University, created a group called Safe Campus Youth Network and have been studying gender-based violence. As they gathered once a month, they gradually began to share their job-hunting experiences and discovered that many female students had fallen victim to sexual harassment while seeking employment. Some students were asked questions unrelated to work by male company employees, such as "What kind of relationship do you have with your partner?" or they were asked out for drinks. The result of this discovery was a rare news conference held Monday by those students and professors, where they urged the government, companies and universities to take measures to end the sexual harassment of university students seeking employment.
Although workplace harassment has captured media attention in recent years, the news conference was an eye-opener because not many people are aware that sexual harassment of student job-seekers is so prevalent. The government, companies and universities must strive to identify and root out this problem.
According to a survey of university students by the business news website Business Insider Japan, as of Nov. 24 a whopping 359 out of 723 people, or about 50 percent of the respondents, said they had experienced sexual harassment during the recruitment process. Three-quarters said they have never told anyone, not even those close to them, about their traumatic experiences.