CHINA
Me, Too
A sexual harassment trial against a powerful Chinese media figure began in Beijing on Wednesday, a watershed moment for the country’s women’s rights movement and a test of its new sexual harassment law, Agence France-Presse reported.
In 2018, Zhou Xiaoxuan accused prominent television host Zhu Jun of groping and forcibly kissing her while she was interning at state broadcaster CCTV four years earlier.
The host has denied the allegations and has filed a defamation suit against her.
Zhou was only one of the many victims of sexual harassment and sexual violence that came forward when the emerging #MeToo movement rocked China in 2018: It began when a college student in Beijing publicly accused her professor of sexual misconduct, according to the Associated Press.
Zhou’s case was initially filed under “personality rights” law, which covers rights relating to an individual’s health and body. It was delayed for two years.
However, China passed its first-ever civil code in May, expanding the definition of sexual harassment. Zhou’s lawyers have asked the court to consider her case under the new legislation.
Zhou hopes the case will encourage other women to come forward in China’s conservative society, where victims often are blamed for sexual harassment and violence.
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