EDITORIAL: Sex offender checks must protect children, human rights
The government has submitted to the Diet a bill to protect children from sexual violence by restricting the employment of sex offenders for certain jobs.
The main component of this legislation is a system to effectively restrict sex offenders from taking a job that involves coming into direct contact with children by checking the records for sex crimes of applicants for such positions.
The Diet needs to carefully consider the bill and meticulously to create a mechanism that strikes a reasonable balance between effectively safeguarding children and protecting workers' human rights.
Sexual violence against children often occurs as a form of the strong taking advantage of the vulnerable and the weak, and such crimes often elude the attention of people around the victims.
The impact of such violence is severe, and the need for measures to tackle the problem is urgent and unquestionable.
Under the proposed bill, the obligation to check prospective and current employees’ sexual criminal records will apply to schools, authorized child care centers, and other entities supervised or accredited by the government.
After-school children's clubs and cram schools will also be subject to the requirement of sex offender background checks if they are certified by the government.
The screening process will cover both new hires and current employees and staff members. The system allows employers to search individuals’ records of both criminal offenses such as sexual assaults and violations of local ordinances such as instances of molestation.
It will be possible to request criminal records going back 20 years for imprisonment and 10 years for fines or lighter sentences. If an employee’s criminal record is found, measures such as not allowing the individual to work directly with children must be taken.
The extent to which a criminal history can be traced back has been a major point of debate.
This is because of the need for consistency with the provision in the Penal Code stipulating that “the sentence ceases to have effect” when 10 years have passed since the person completed the imprisonment, a rule to avoid hindering individuals who have served their sentence from reintegrating into society.
The government is basing the bill's provisions on data regarding the risk of recidivism in sexual crimes. However, in heeding voices within the ruling parties that demand an even longer look-back period, the bill includes the possibility of revision after three years.
The rationale and necessity for searching criminal records must be thoroughly discussed.
The bill also mandates preventive measures such as reassigning employees even when they have no criminal history but pose a risk of committing a sexual offense.
The question is what criteria should be used to recognize such a “risk." It must be ensured that this vague provision will not be broadly interpreted or misused by employers. The details and specifics of the provision must be worked out carefully during the Diet deliberations.
The government says staff members or employees who have a sexual criminal history or are deemed "at risk" can be dismissed when reassignment is difficult.
The government says the details of this measure will be provided in guidelines before the system's implementation, but this is a critical point that affects labor laws and should be clarified through Diet deliberations.
While attention is focused on "reoffenders," nearly 90 percent of sexual violence against children is reportedly committed by first-time offenders.
The bill mandates workplace training, interviews with children for early detection of victimization, establishment of consultation systems and investigations when a sexual violation is suspected.
The effectiveness of these measures should also be a subject of deeper discussion.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 26