Sankei Headlines reads: "Woman who had an affair to pay damages after Sexual Coercion case judged fake."
There is a lot to unpack here.
A man (M) was having an affair with his subordinate (S). She reported him as having coerced her into sex and he was fired from his job at Nissan.
His wife (W) sued S for 10M yen in compensation for damages.
The court stated that "it's natural to think S had positive feelings about M, so we conclude that she was in that relationship willingly."
M has been re-instated in his job at Nissan after suing them and winning the case.
I DO NOT KNOW what happened between M, S, and W. I DO NOT KNOW the details pertaining to THIS case. I DO NOT KNOW enough to make a judgment based on the information I have.
I DO KNOW that the reasons cited are bullshit.
I am writing this tweet on the basis that the court ruling is absolute and that the judge made the best call with the information available (and not available to the public).
My opinions are based on my perceptions alone.
My intent is to point out the systemic failures that allowed this situation to begin with.
Is it okay for anyone to date a married person? IMO, no.
Is the cheater who is married at fault? Yes.
I cannot help but wonder if S felt safe ever rejecting M's advances (which again - he's married). If she was his subordinate, did she have the choice to say "no" without repercussions?
Imagine if he'd also treated her favorably *because* they dated. That's unfair, right?
And if she was his subordinate... how safe was it for her to say anything *but* "yes"?
Anecdote: I went on dates with my rapist.
Does that mean he didn't rape me? No.
It just means I did not understand what had happened to me at the time. Sometimes it takes YEARS.
My problem is that the info we have is not designed for victims.
Even if S was terrible person (who knows), this system is not designed for victims.
Because this DOES happen.
If she is innocent, then she was failed by a system designed to fail people like her.
Either way, victims are further hurt.
By blaming the cheaters for cheating.
By companies enforcing relationship boundaries at work (if they work together).
By educating the Court on what sexual coercion *is.*
Etc.
Either way, victims lost a lot today.