繼#MeToo運動席捲全球後，越來越多女性陸續公開講述自己遭遇性騷擾的故事，然而日本很晚才跟上這項運動。根據社運人士，缺少法律保障、再加上文化壓力促使人要接受與隱忍自己的苦楚，使年輕女性的處境脆弱。

Women have come forward to tell their story but Japanese women have remained slow to embrace the #MeToo movement. Lack of legal protection, combined with cultural pressure to accept and bear one’s hardship, make young women vulnerable, according to activists.

一項近期研究顯示了這項問題涉及的廣度：在日本每十間公司就至少有一間對於女性員工被迫穿戴的的高跟鞋高度有正式規定。

A recent study again shows the extent of the problem: more than one in 10 companies in Japan have formal regulations about the length of heeled shoes female workers are forced to wear.

根據日本工會聯盟(Japanese Trade Union Confederation)，大約57%的受訪者表示他們的雇主有針對女性雇員的服裝、及其他儀容相關的規章。

Some 57 percent of those polled also said their employer had regulations that stipulate the clothing workers are required to wear or other restrictions relating to their appearance, according to the Japanese Trade Union Confederation.

根據研究發現，這樣的規定在旅館及餐飲業最普遍，87%的雇員表示他們必須遵守服裝與外貌的相關規定。而在金融與保險業則有71%的僱員表示他們遭遇到類似的規定。

Such rules were found to be highest in the hotel and food profession where 87 percent of employees said they had to follow rules around clothing and appearance. Some 71 percent of workers in the financial and insurance industry said they were subject to equivalent regulations.

根據這項研究，超過三分之一的受訪者認為他們的雇主對於男性與女性雇員各有不同的規定，這也是「沒辦法的事」。而只有12%的受訪者認為這樣的規定是「不合適的」。

Over a third of respondents, however, argued that employers have divergent rules in place for men and Women which “can’t be helped.” Only 12 percent of respondents argued such procedures were “inappropriate,” the study shows.

因此，對於這個—響應#MeToo運動反擊性騷擾與性侵害的—#KuToo運動在社群媒體上被廣泛傳播，便引來不少的疑惑與納悶，即使目前這項運動發展仍較緩慢。

There are, therefore, little wonder that the hashtag #KuToo – echoing the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment – has been widely disseminated on social media, even though progress remains slow.

這個#KuToo標籤取自於日文的鞋子 “kutsu” 與疼痛“kutsuu”的文字諧音。

The phrase is a play on the Japanese words for shoes “kutsu” and pain “kutsuu”.

民間婦女平權組織「現在就要平等」(Equality Now)的幹部Jacqui Hunt在BBC訪問中指出，這些對女性員工的規定是「性別歧視與刻板印象的宣言，對女性該有的裝扮與舉止的要求，印證了這種降低婦女在工作場所的地位的性別歧視」。

Jacqui Hunt, of Equality Now, a non-government organization which aims to promote the rights of women and girls, told the BBC that the rules are “a manifestation of sexist and stereotyped views on how women should look and behave, and exemplifies the type of sex-based discrimination that subordinates Women in the workplace.”

她指出，日本政府還試圖以女性未充分發揮的經濟潛能打造一個更具包容性的經濟體，相當諷刺。日本這種高度具有性別色彩的企業文化必須改進。

The situation is ironic as authorities have tried to build a more inclusive economy by tapping into Women’s underutilized economic potential. Japan’s highly gendered corporate culture needs to evolve, she noted.

Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20191120-864085