China: woman wins rare MeToo court victory
What's the story
A woman, known only as Xiong to protect her identity, has won a landmark sexual harassment case against her former manager at Beijing Grassland Alliance. The court ordered the manager to pay 5,000 yuan (approximately ₹70,100) in emotional damages and issue a written apology. This ruling is rare in China, where workplace sexual harassment cases are seldom successful due to cultural barriers and legal complexities, despite the MeToo movement enraging millions of women, The Guardian reported.
Case background
What led to the lawsuit
Xiong, who started as an intern at the NGO in early 2022, alleged her manager sexually harassed her by making inappropriate jokes about her bra size and sending suggestive text messages. One such message read: "Don't get caught up in romance and hang around with your girlfriend, think about me more." After leaving the NGO in 2024, Xiong filed a lawsuit against her former manager.
Legal challenges
Sexual harassment cases in China
It is only since 2021 that victims of sexual harassment in China have had the right to sue perpetrators for civil liability. However, such cases are still rare due to cultural barriers that make it difficult for women to speak up about harassment. A 2018 study found only 34 judicial decisions on workplace sexual harassment between 2010 and 2017.
Movement influence
Impact of MeToo movement in China
May Lu, a managing partner at Shanghai Yaowang law offices, said that while there are more lawsuits now due to the influence of the MeToo movement and legal developments in China, "But overall, we could not say it is common to see such cases successfully filed." The global MeToo movement, which gained traction after allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017, had a similar effect in China. However, many testimonies were censored by authorities.
Examples
Cases during nascent stage of movement
In 2018, Zhou Xiaoxuan accused state broadcaster CCTV presenter Zhu Jun of sexual assault. However, she lost her legal case against Zhu on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The ruling in Xiong's case recognized power imbalances in the workplace and is said to have succeeded partly because she was able to provide evidence from WeChat conversations between herself and colleagues at Beijing Grassland Alliance, including those with her former manager.