Recently, a teacher in Wuhan City won a landmark sexual harassment case against her former boss, which is believed to be the first time a Chinese court has ruled in favor of a plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit. Now, sexual harassment is set to become a hot topic among the public and experts as draft laws on sexual harassment are being constructed.
The Xinhua News Agency recently interviewed Xu Weihua, an inspector of the All-China Women's Federation. According to Xu, experts have begun to draft laws on sexual harassment and sexual harassment will be written into the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women.
Reporter: Has the work of revising the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women begun? Which aspects will be revised?
Xu Weihua: The revising work of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women was begun several days ago. The experts group, which is made up of more than a dozen law experts and women issue experts, will revise five aspects of the law in six months. These five aspects include women's participation in social and political affairs, women's rights and interests in labor, women's rights and interests in marriage and family, sexual harassment, and women's social security. Except for the aspect of sexual harassment, four other aspects will just be supplemented and modified.
Reporter: Which are the key aspects of the legislation on sexual harassment?
Xu Weihua: The key technical problem of the legislation on sexual harassment is how to obtain evidence. It is very hard to obtain proper evidence on sexual harassment because victims are usually attacked in a secretive environment. It means that there is no witness. It is also very hard to get evidence on verbal and physical assault. So, the onus of proof should be considered for legislation. Not only do the victims have the onus of proof, but the defendants also have the onus of proof.
I believe that women should take their own responsibility and strengthen their self-protection. Once the sexual harassment has happened, women should keep the evidence consciously while also protecting themselves. Punitive compensation should also be considered for legislation. Great compensation claims could scare offenders and restrain the occurrence of sexual harassment.
(China.org.cn translated by Wu Nanlan, June 20, 2003)
