The Impact of #MeToo on Sex Education Reform in Japan and S. Korea

• In Event: Confronting Patriarchy in Government Institutions and Policies

Abstract

This paper seeks to evaluate the policy effects of various activist movements mobilized by women, especially young women who use social media, in response to sexual harassment and violence, and sex education. Building on the analysis of Hasunuma and Shin (2019), which provides a comparative analysis of the development of the #MeToo movements in Japan and South Korea, and the initial media coverage and backlash against women who spoke out, this paper focuses more on policy reforms, especially in sex education. In both countries, the #MeToo movements have given momentum to grassroots efforts at reforming sex education, and young women are often leading these efforts to combat sexism and address the issue of consent through sex education and other initiatives. The guidelines, revisions, and debates around sex education in both countries are evaluated and show the power and limits of public pressure and mobilization by feminist activists, as well as the impact of their different civil society networks for women. How has sex education been challenged and shaped in the era of #MeToo in these countries, and how can women’s activism influence these reform efforts? This paper hopes to contribute a comparative and East Asian perspective on the global #MeToo movement, and a systematic analysis of its effects in one specific policy area: sex education reform and related policies in schools.

Author

• Linda Choi Hasunuma, University of Bridgeport