A Chinese undergraduate’s exposé of alleged sexual harassment on a prestigious Beijing university campus has grabbed the country’s attention and lifted the lid on a taboo topic in China.
Kang Chenwei, a third-year student, documented 60 alleged instances of sexual harassment over the past decade at Beijing Normal University, one of China’s top universities and one of the few with a majority female student population. Cases range from peeping Toms to an assistant dean who allegedly attempted to drug and fondle students.
The attention attracted by the revelations has prompted an unusually public debate in China, where concerns for a university’s reputation and students’ desire to avoid public shaming generally result in harassment cases being dealt with quietly or covered up.