Labor board supports victim of office gender harassment

A transgender o ce worker who developed depression due to so-called SOGI harassment in their o ce gained recognition as the victim of an industrial accident, it has been learned.

A labor standards inspection o ce in Kanagawa Prefecture recognized the case involving the employee, who is in their 40s, on June 30. It is rare in Japan for SOGI (sexual orientation or gender identity) harassment to be recognized as a labor accident, according to the attorney representing the employee.

SOGI harassment is an act of insulting a person on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It was de ned in 2017 by sexual minorities who have su ered from such behavior at work and school.

e harassment includes “outing,” in which a person discloses another person’s gender identity or sexual orientation without consent.

e employee’s o cially registered sex is male, but their gender identity is female. In 2006, they took a job at a major manufacturing company in Kanagawa Prefecture. ey came out regarding their gender identity at work in 2017.

According to a report on their case’s recognition as an industrial accident, obtained by the employee through an information disclosure request, the company properly treated the worker as female and informed the other employees that they should treat the employee as a woman and address them by the standard gender-neutral honori c title of “-san.”

A er a while, however, the employee’s relationship with their supervisor, who had been their mentor, deteriorated. In April 2018, the employee protested that the supervisor called them “he” during a discussion attended by another manager, and the supervisor replied, “Change your gender on the register rst before talking back.”

e supervisor also told them, “If you want to look feminine, you need to be more solicitous.” e boss called the employee “he” several times at that meeting, and even used the masculine honori c title “-kun” for them ve times in a discussion a few days later.

e worker fell ill and took a leave of absence from work in December 2018 a er being diagnosed at a medical institution with sleep disorders and depression.

e labor standards o ce said the supervisor’s comments were “insulting speech or behavior against gender identity. ose mental assaults that deny the person’s personality were carried out relentlessly.”

e employee was recognized to have developed depression as a result of a heavy psychological burden and was given labor accident recognition. e worker returned to work in September 2021.

e worker told e Yomiuri Shimbun that they felt uncomfortable with their gender identity and felt pain when they started growing their hair out, only to be told by their boss to get a haircut.

“When my boss verbally abused me, it hit me hard to feel that I wasn’t getting my identity understood, and I cried on the spot,” the employee said. “Gender identity is not something you can control, and understanding in the workplace is essential.”

e manufacturing company commented: “We take it seriously that the case was recognized as a labor accident. We will work to prevent similar problems from happening again.” (Nov. 10)

The Yomiuri Shimbun An office worker who received labor accident recognition for harassment based on gender identity talks about their experience in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Monday.