Decolonising conversations around Sexual Assault in China

CW: Discussion of sexual assault and rape.

Today we continue our series called 'Decolonising conversations around sexual assault', which can also be found as an infographic on our Instagram, and in this third part we explore sexual violence in China.

Here is a brief overview of sexual violence in China and the issues that can arise:

• Patriarchal views in China, such as women making themselves 'easy prey', causes victim blaming.
• Their outfit, location and time are often used as reasons for sexual violence.
• Due to China's censorship, engrained patriarchy and oppressive policies sexual violence activism has lots of obstacles.

Statistics:

• 596 child victims of sexual assault were reported by the media in 2021.
• Boys under the age of 14 experiencing sexual violence have increased.
• 33,579 rape cases were recorded in 2020.
• 24.9% of perpetrators accused of sexual violence are arrested and 15.9% of those are imprisoned.

The media:

• A lot of media relating to sexual abuse is heavily censored in China.
• Following an incident in Tangshan where four women were beaten up protecting themselves from a group of men, 4,000 Weibo posts to do with the incident were deleted.
• Almost every outrage posted online about sexual violence is routinely deleted.

At SASHA we want to ensure our society includes a range of viewpoints and perspectives, here is a testimony from a member of our community who came forward to express their own knowledge and experiences. Below is their full quotation:

“一个巴掌拍不响"

“It takes two to tango”

This phrase has been used as a way of devaluing sexual violence survivors’ experience, saying that they should be responsible for what has happened. This becomes a public attitude towards sexual harassment.

"苍蝇不叮无缝的蛋"

“Nothing happens for no reason”

This phrase literally means "flies will not stop/eat a seamless egg". It has been popularly used as a way of blaming sexual violence survivors.

"仙人跳"

“Xianren tiao (badger game)”

People in China sometime comment on sexual harassment incidents with the term “仙人跳/ Xianrentiao”, which indicates the predator was actually fooled/tricked into this. This term is sexist in most cases, referring to the actual victim who wants benefits from it.

"潜规则"

“The hidden rules/ unspoken rules”

People stigmatised sexual harassment survivors with the term ”qianguize“ to say victims are seeking benefits for themselves.

"保研路"

“The pathway for a master's degree”

This term shows people’s attitudes towards sexual harassment on campus. It says that the university would give the victim benefits like a chance to pursue a master's degree in a higher education system for censoring their voices and for protecting the university's reputation."

For more information check out the post on our Instagram “Decolonising conversations around Sexual Assault: Part 3”. If you relate to this post or find it triggering and need to access support, check out the resources in our LinkTree.

Thanks for reading we hope you were able to learn something new or feel represented by what you read!

Written by Nina Piotrowska
Edited by McKenzie Burnett
Published Feb 1, 2023

Sources:

CBD Team. (2022, March). Report details extent of child sexual abuse. China Development.

Ma, O. (2022, August). What You Wear and What You Do: Rape Culture in China. Harvard Political Review.

Textor, C. (2021, October). China: assault, rape, and murder cases. Statista.

Ping, A. (2014, July). Tough facts about rape in China. China Daily Website.