"What if I let him die in my hands?"



It suddenly started while my 4-month-old son was undergoing an infant checkup.

This is the experience of a woman who was 20 years old 12 years ago.

just what you're wearing

March 11, 2011 14:46.



For Ayumu Sugiyama, 32, from Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, it was the sudden beginning of a long-term evacuation that lasted more than a month, with only the clothes she was wearing.

Mr. Sugiyama


: “That day, when it was my turn to have my son checked at the doctor’s hall, the moment I put him on the bed naked, the earthquake struck. I had no choice but to dilute the powdered milk I had with me until the third day. It's just

The Great East Japan Earthquake From the next day...

Mr. Sugiyama said that for a while, his family moved from one place of refuge to another, such as hospitals and high school classrooms, looking for milk and diapers.


“She was so busy with her kids that she didn’t have time to worry about herself,” she recalls, but as a woman, she had some concerns.



Mr. Sugiyama


: “The day after the earthquake, I started to get my period. About a week after the earthquake, I started spending time at the evacuation center at my high school and was able to get sanitary napkins, but at that time I couldn't even change clothes for about a month. I can't say it's extravagant, but having my period come in such a state would have been very difficult."

About 60% of women who “had” difficulties and anxiety due to gender

The Great East Japan Earthquake forced many people into long-term evacuations.

One of the issues highlighted in the online questionnaire conducted by NHK from the 2nd to the 7th of last month was "consideration for women at evacuation centers."



Responses were received from 1,000 people in their 20s to 50s living in the coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, as well as areas where evacuation orders were issued due to the nuclear accident.

Of these, when asked whether they had any difficulties or anxieties due to their gender during evacuation life at the time, 59% of the women answered "yes" or "relatively yes", and 44


men


. 15 points higher than %.

to the cry of a child

When asked about their difficulties and anxieties with multiple answers, the most common answer


among women was


▼ “There was no space for changing clothes” at 63%,


▼ “There were not enough relief supplies” at 52%.


▼38% said “there was no place to dry underwear”,


▼19% said “there was no separate toilet for men and women”, and


▼17% said “there was no space for raising children such as breastfeeding”.



Many of the free comments were about anxiety about menstruation and changing clothes, such as "I was very careful about using a toilet that didn't flow due to water outages during my period," or "I had no choice but to change clothes in the car, so I was completely exposed." I had an answer.



In addition, there were comments such as "My underwear was stolen" and "My child was crying a lot when he was 0 years old, so the people around him were annoyed and annoyed."

12 years after the earthquake, there is also a women-only voluntary disaster prevention organization

In 2013, about 30 women in the Nango area of ​​Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture established the Women's Voluntary Disaster Prevention Association based on the experiences of these disaster victims.

First of all, the district prepared a disaster prevention warehouse to store supplies for women.

We store supplies necessary for women, such as baby formula, baby bottles, and sanitary products.



In addition, after hearing from victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake that babies kept crying at evacuation centers and were yelled at, we decided to open evacuation centers exclusively for families with pregnant women and infants.

Ms. Mitsue Ochiai (78), who started a women's voluntary disaster prevention organization in the Nango district, said,


"At first, it was difficult to get women from the ward to participate, but after listening to the victims' stories, I decided to create a women's voluntary disaster prevention organization. I think it will be difficult to get people to understand the necessity, but I hope that they will continue and expand their activities.”

Evacuate to the hotel for pregnant women and children Don't hesitate

In Izumiotsu City, Osaka, we have signed an agreement with two hotels in the city to accept pregnant women and families with infants in guest rooms.

In January this year, nine families participated in a drill to actually evacuate to the hotel for the first time.

The training was held for two days and one night. In the hall of the hotel, a


female disaster prevention worker explained what items to bring when evacuating, and a


local fire station staff member used dolls that looked like young children. There was also time to teach them how to do heart massage.



There were scenes where the children cried and walked around, but the parents held them in their arms and comforted them as they participated.

Mr. Satoshi Tomatsuri, who participated as a couple with his 6-month-old eldest son, said, "


My child didn't sleep very well because he was in a different place than normal, but when he was in a regular evacuation center, his cries and excretion caused trouble for those around him. I think that people may refrain from evacuating because there may be times when they are late.This is a place where you can evacuate with the same children, so I would like to actively use it.”

not just women

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the national government created guidelines to ask for the opinions of women in matters such as the operation of evacuation centers.

On the other hand, according to a Cabinet Office survey, out of approximately 1,700 municipalities nationwide, only 8% of municipalities have conducted staff training and training using the Otoshi Guidelines.



Professor Keiko Ikeda of Shizuoka University, who is well versed in disaster prevention and gender issues, says the following after giving a certain evaluation that measures are progressing.

Professor Ikeda


: “Even if we have guidelines, if only men are implementing them, women’s perspectives tend to be overlooked. What I think is worth noting is that many of the people who take care of the elderly, infants, and injured people are women. I believe that all mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, and babies will experience less difficulties during their lives as evacuees, and that this will lead to higher-quality disaster response.”