Analyzing Abuse in Narratives: A Linguistic Case Study of DV in Cross-National Households in Japan

Abstract Book of the 7th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality

Year: 2026

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Analyzing Abuse in Narratives: A Linguistic Case Study of DV in Cross-National Households in Japan

Polina Lukyantseva

ABSTRACT:

Domestic violence (DV), abuse, and gender-based violence (GBV) are serious global issues. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2021) and the United Nations Women (UNW, 2021), more than five women or girls are killed every hour by a family member. The same report revealed that Asia had the highest number of gender-related killings in the private sphere in 2021.
Despite attention to DV/abuse and GBV, there is almost no research on abuse in cross-national households (CNH) in Japan. The lack of attention to this topic shows a significant research gap. Hence, this research aims to fill that gap by focusing directly on DV and abuse in CNH in Japan. The study applies a mixed-methods approach. It includes qualitative and quantitative research methods (interviews, open-ended (OEQ) and closed-ended (CEQ) questionnaires, inductive coding, case studies, and linguistic analysis (such as narrative storytelling (NS) and conversation analysis (CA))). It also presents results from a sample of 83 participants (drawn from a population of 9,118 Russian residents in Japan, with 90% confidence and 10% error), including 18 in-depth interviews and detailed case studies based on OEQ responses and interviews.
The research groups domestic violence (DV) and abuse into five forms: physical, sexual, emotional/psychological, economic, and coercive control. This classification is based on the framework developed by Claudia García-Moreno et al. (2005). However, this study also emphasizes the importance of examining DV and abuse as an interconnected process, as illustrated through the interview data.
Accordingly, this research questions the idea that particular forms of abuse are more prevalent within specific social groups or clusters. It also critiques approaches that compare the prevalence or forms of DV and abuse across countries or cultural groups. Such generalizations may cause harmful stereotypes in future research and public discourse.
Instead, this study investigates instances of abuse and DV by dividing them into categories only for the purpose of detailed examination (during the first stage of the interview analysis). The first part of the study illustrates instances of abuse, including physical, sexual, and economic abuse. They are analyzed by using an inductive coding method. In contrast, the second part primarily focuses on the linguistic analysis of the interviews to develop a deeper understanding of participants’ experiences and how they narrate them.
Finally, this study is also essential for comparing a linguistic approach with the combination of inductive coding and category-grouping of abuse and DV. These two methodological approaches generate significantly different insights and results.

Keywords: Abuse; DV; Gender; Japan; SDG5