“Even if I court disaster like an egg against stone or a moth to a flame, I will tell the truth about you and me.” These were Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s last words on Weibo, China’s heavily censored social media platform. In her explosive revelation, she detailed how China’s former vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, had coerced her into sex on more than one occasion.
In China, sexual assault has become an epidemic. Its rape culture has emboldened men in every corner of society, from the upper echelons of power within the Chinese Communist Party, to mid-level management at state enterprises, literary circles and the public intelligentsia.
Sexual violence against women is so romanticized in China’s pop culture that one of the country’s most famous martial arts novelists, Louis Cha, created a character who developed an unwavering love for her rapist. Many Chinese women have said on Weibo that they were discouraged from reporting sexual harassment and rape because of tepid legal support and threats of retaliation from their assailants, specially when they are powerful men.
No comments:
Post a Comment