Bystanders harass woman in #MeToo case
BEIJING — A Chinese woman was shoved by antagonistic bystanders as she headed to court Tuesday in one of the few remaining #MeToo cases from a tamped-down movement whose legacy remains uncertain.
Zhou Xiaoxuan, a former intern at Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, became the face of the country’s #MeToo movement after going public with accusations against a prominent CCTV host in 2018. Since then, the movement has been largely shut down by authorities as activists found their online posts censored and faced pressure from authorities when trying to hold protests, but Zhou has continued to speak out.
“I’m very thankful for everyone, whether we win or lose, I’m very honored to have experienced these last three years,” Zhou said to reporters outside the court, as unidentified men and women came up and tried to push her along.
One woman yelled “pandemic safety,” trying to prevent Zhou from speaking, while a man questioned whether it was appropriate for her to speak alone.
A transgender woman who tried to hold up a sign saying “Standing Together” was quickly surrounded by police and had the sign ripped out of her hand. She said later that police then asked for her national identification number.
The hearing was the final one in a lawsuit brought by Zhou against CCTV host Zhu Jun, whom she accuses of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2014. She is asking for a public apology as well as $7,600 in damages.
While the movement no longer has protests and lawyers and others helping victims take legal action, some people are still pushing to get justice for victims of sexual violence.
A series of sexual assault and rape accusations in recent weeks has drawn national attention. The most prominent was an accusation of sexual assault made by an Alibaba employee against two men. Chinese-Canadian singer Kris Wu was also arrested in Beijing on suspicion of rape.
Still, victims of sexual violence face legal and social obstacles to seeking justice.
In a recent report, Darius Longarino, a research scholar at Yale Law School and colleagues found only 83 civil cases in public databases that related to sexual harassment or molestation between 2018 and 2020. Of the 83 cases, 77 were brought by the alleged harasser against companies or the victim. Just six cases were brought by victims against a harasser.