Her hands were clenched into fists, and patches of lightened skin mottled her skin up to her elbows. Addressing the four foreign women sitting in the office of the domestic violence shelter in Okayama City, the young woman quietly told us of the years of abuse she endured at the hands of her husband.
The associated stress from the abuse had caused her joints to stop functioning properly, and prompted various other mental and physical problems. She had made her way to to the shelter five days earlier, and the night before she had slept soundly for the first time in two years. This was her small victory, and the quiet voice of domestic abuse that previously would have been silent.
Domestic violence (DV) is not rare in Japan, but what is rare is that a woman in her position would have access to a shelter for DV victims.