Sexual Harassment -- A Matter of Social Concern

By CHEN XINXIN

While working as consultant on a women's helpline I received many letters and calls about sexual harassment. One 26-year-old woman told me how she had been demoted from her position as accountant to that of cleaner because she rebuffed the sexual advances of her manager. On reporting him the manager concerned suffered no reprisals whatever. She, on the other hand, was ostracized by her colleagues and friends. Even her husband upbraided her for being oversensitive. She wrote to me asking for legal advice.

There is no clear definition of sexual harassment in China. It is generally regarded as an invasion of personal space and an affront to dignity, taking the form of sexual insinuations and jokes, offensively intimate physical contact, and sexual demands. In a social survey carried out by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 48 percent of women participating said they had experienced harassment in the form of obscene jokes and insinuations emanating from their male colleagues, 13 percent said they had been expected to grant sexual favors in exchange for other benefits, and 26 percent said they had been subjected to physical advances in public places.

Men Also Harassed

Sexual harassment is by no means confined to women. I received several calls from young men aged 16 to 18 who had been harassed by divorced and separated women 20 years or more their senior. Young, impoverished and lacking in social experience, when harassed by their female bosses they felt obliged to comply in order to keep their jobs, despite the affect on their married life.

In contrast to female victims of sexual harassment, men are reluctant to seek legal advice. According to statistics, only 5 percent of men sue their tormentors. In any event, it is the victim that ultimately loses in such cases, as no matter which side wins, it is generally the plaintiff that loses their job.

Social Survey Results

Women's Helpline statistics from 1992 to 2001 show that there were 511 calls about sexual harassment, accounting for 0.84 percent of the total number of calls. An analysis of 40 cases revealed that in 90 percent of cases women were being sexually harassed by men over the age of 31, most of them married, and that in 67 percent of cases they were their male superiors in the workplace. Among women being harassed, 77 percent were single, aged between 22 and 25 and doing secretarial or technical jobs.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences also carried out a survey among 8,379 men and women with the following results:

	Women	Men
Sexually Harrassed	77%	21%
Demanding legislation	74%	47%
Tolerating harassment	54%	54%
Settling out of Court	7%	12%
Refusal to Report Harassment	37%	33%

As can be seen, the biggest disparity apart from the men-women ratio of harassment is willingness to take legal action. The proportion of women prepared to prosecute their harassers was double that of men.

A Knotty Legislative Problem

Sexual harassment is an embarrassing topic and a nebulous concept in China. Amassing evidence is difficult, and there is no clear legislation as regards degree or penalties. It has been suggested that litigation as a means to punish such behavior in China may be premature. Taking into account cases in other countries that have led to tension in male/female relationships and wrong judgments, a preferable alternative could be administrative rules prohibiting sexual harassment within relevant institutions.

The main aspect now under discussion is how to distinguish sexual harassment from normal intimacy. Unless legislation on this fundamental issue is completely clear, litigation could be as vindictive a means of intimidation and victimization as harassment itself.

According to an Internet survey carried out jointly by sina.com and China Comment magazine in July 2003, there is widespread concern about the negative impact of punishing non-sexually aggressive physical contact. An expert involved in the survey commented, "At present, women are keen to formulate legislation on sexual harassment, but men must also protect their rights, otherwise they will lack the means to defend themselves in cases of false accusations. Those in the legislative field have every intention of formulating legal means to punish sexual harassment, but the real problem lies in implementation"

Sexual Harassment Court Cases

The first sexual harassment case was heard on July, 2001 in the Lianhu District Court, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Ms Tong, a 30-year-old woman working at a state-owned enterprise, sued her boss for sexual harassment, but her case was rejected after two months because of lack of evidence.

The first woman to win a sexual harassment case was a Ms He, a teacher who had sued her boss Mr. Sheng. The case was heard on June 9, 2003 in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The court judged that all the facts pertaining to the case were valid, and required of the defendant that he apologize to the plaintiff and compensate her in the sum of 200 yuan for mental cruelty.

On June 3, 2003, the first sexual harassment case was heard in a Beijing court. Lei Man, a 25-year-old woman claimed that as a consequence of rebuffing her manager's sexual advances on several occasions, he used his connections to restrict her job opportunities in the computer business. The case is still ongoing.

These cases and my personal experience as a helpline consultant indicate that sexual harassment is most prevalent in the workplace. There is therefore need for raised awareness regarding self-protection and the ability to distinguish and pinpoint such abuse. Before appropriate legislation can be formulated and implemented, sexual harassment must be made a matter of public concern, and effective social measures taken to prevent its occurrence.

CHEN XINXIN is a researcher with Women's Research Institute of All China Women's Federation and a consultant with Women's Hotline.