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Outreaching: A process in which social workers proactively reach out to those who need assistance but have not yet received it, by talking to them and providing information and support.
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Removal Request: Requesting the removal of sexually explicit images on behalf of the person concerned.
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Advocacy: Public relations, awareness - raising, policy advocacy, etc.
Deletion
Request
Policy Recommendation
Independence and Recovery
PAPS supports survivors of sexual exploitation and digital sexual violence.
Outreaching
We conduct regular outreach activities in downtown Tokyo. The important thing is to meet with each individual and build a relationship of trust. We talk to them about their thoughts and feelings, their financial situation, concerns about their physical and mental health, and worries about work and interpersonal problems. We tend to meet women in more difficult situations, especially on bad weather days such as typhoons or snow. What is worrisome is that many women are at risk for STDs and infectious diseases. Many women are afraid to seek medical care because they do not have national health insurance. We are continuing our outreach activities to catch the SOS of these women we meet on the street.
A Hotline
for Victim Assistance
The hotline is available 24/7, 365 days a year, and consultation is free of charge.
PAPS's counseling support staff consists of social workers, clinical psychologists, counselors, etc. Two counseling support staff members are assigned to each client.
Initial Interview
PAPS places the highest value on in-person interviews, and almost always conducts an in-person interview. If the client is located far away, a PAPS consultant may work alone or with a team of local counselors (women's counselor, school social worker, etc.) to provide consultation.
Accompanying Support
During the initial interview, a consultation note is prepared detailing the victimization experience and changes in the victim's state of mind. This is done so that the client does not have to repeat the same information many times when consulting with attorneys, the police, or other external parties. Major places to go: Lawyers, Police, Ward/City hall, Hospitals.
Transitioning from the Sex Industry to a Day Job
There are many hurdles to transitioning from the sex industry to a day job. There are concerns such as how to write a resume, how to manage money, and how to change one's eating habits and lifestyle. Some of our counselors are preparing for employment by using the social welfare system, attending school information sessions and job transition support, and some of them have already found a job.
Deletion Request
In order to recover damages and reputation when sexual image records are spread, it is necessary to request the deletion of videos, images, etc. spread on the Internet. Under the current system, victims themselves need to find the relevant images and request their deletion to the relevant organizations or providers. Therefore, the organization provides support for removal requests on behalf of the consultants.
Night Cafe,
Providing places to stay
Many of those we met downtown were children who could not return home or had homes but had run away from their parents. In our ongoing involvement, many complain that they want to die, disappear, and feel unworthy. To distract themselves and beat their anxieties, they gather in the downtown area. There, they self-mutilate and overdose (take large doses of drugs). They also drink and smoke, even if they are underage, and they depend heavily on something to survive in order to distract themselves from the difficulties of life.
Many of the women who come to the night café are in their teens to early twenties. They are young people who express their feelings of "wanting to die" in various ways because they have been sexually abused by their stepfathers, their parents are not interested in them and have neglected them, or their parents are over-involved in their education and abuse them. We understand that many young people are traumatized by welfare support, and that they feel distress about temporary protection at child guidance centers and women's consultation centers, saying that they are forced to act in groups, that it is impossible for them to use smartphones, and that it was like a prison. These young people tend to be excluded from the local community as juvenile delinquents and are subject to street arrests. They are often involved in theft gangs, telephone banking fraud, solicitation of illegal men's bars, and sexual assaults. In the case of young women, they are often trapped in the belief that they cannot make a living unless they become a partner in prostitution, and we try to spend time with them while attending to their feelings.
The Night Café Project has been found to play an essential and important role for children and young women who spend their lives and nights downtown, from the following perspectives: 1) a place where it is not expensive to stay downtown, 2) a place where they can escape when they feel unsafe at night, 3) a place where they can unexpectedly deal with pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, 4) a place to take a leisurely and relaxing nap, 5) a place to talk to someone not for counseling, and 6) a place where they can talk about things that are unique to women (pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases).
When people become heavily dependent on something, they tend to underestimate or justify the large expenses and physical and mental burden they have to bear in order to maintain their dependence. The relationship may break down due to negativity toward third-party advice. For this reason, the Night Café project uses the "Harm Reduction" method, which seeks to resolve current difficulties in living and reduce dependence, while slowly building the relationship, rather than making the person stop being dependent.
Through the involvement of "peer supporters" who support people in the same situation by utilizing their past experiences of sex trafficking, we have implemented the "Harm Reduction" method, in which we do not support users to suddenly stop their dependence, but rather seek to resolve their current difficulties in living and reduce their dependence while slowly building a relationship with them. We also found that some of these girls "do not need to go to male host bar, etc." when we tried to help them. In other words, it turned out that not trying to make them stop was the shortest path to quitting.
Accommodation Support
At PAPS, young women and children in their teens and 20s who "don't have a place to stay tonight" or "want to go home but don't have a place they can call home. so they sell their sex" are provided with food, clothing, and care by staff and live with them to find solutions to the difficult problems they are facing.
Children close to 18 years old and women over the age of 18 have few places to escape to. Public shelters are available, but there are requirements that make it difficult for those who have experienced self-harm or overdose to use them.
At PAPS, in the case of children, we work with the Child Guidance Center until they find a place to settle down, such as a children's home or a home for self-reliance, and for young women over 18 years old, we provide support until they find their next place to live.
We plan to make the accommodation a place of hope where they can protect their own physical and mental health without being victims of sexual exploitation or sexual violence.
The accommodation is designed to accommodate a total of five people, four in dormitories and one in a private room. We need a substantial budget to operate the accommodations. We need your support.
Thank you for your continued support of PAPS.
Pappus is able to continue to support more than 3,000 people who have been involved in sexual exploitation because of the support of many of you who have entrusted us with your support. Your support is a great help to solve the problem of sexual exploitation.
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Amazon Wishlist
We have made a list of items needed such as food, snacks, clothing, hygiene items, sanitary items, etc. We value the voices of girls who say, "I want these things," or "It would be helpful if I had them. We see firsthand the poverty of menstruation, such as "I can't afford sanitary napkins." A safe place to rest, and the experience of being cared for will help these girls.
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Protect Girls from a bitter cold by Making a "One-Time Donation"
We are operating an outreach and providing a place to stay (café). The number of young people suffering from abuse, sexual abuse, and other difficulties is increasing rapidly, and we are short of funds for our activities.
Support victims of digital sexual abuse by making a "Sustaining Donation"
In 2020, there were 281 cases; in 2021, 643 cases; and in 2022, 1208 cases. Many consultations are received from junior high and high school students, and the younger age of victims is serious. PAPS is the only non-profit organization in Japan that provides support for victims of digital sexual abuse. We ask for your help in maintaining our support activities for victims.