In an ironic turn of events, Shenzhen's female-priority subway carriages, originally conceived as a way to prevent sexual harassment, were the setting of a case of repeated groping earlier this month.
On August 7, Weibo user ScarLett_闲花 posted about an incident that she claimed had happened that morning: a man standing behind her on the female-priority carriage touched her 'in the area from my thighs to butt,' twice.
After she got off the train at Chegongmiao station, he once again groped her as she waited to take the escalator. Fed up, she loudly called him out and moved away, only to have him follow her.
CCTV footage show ScarLett_闲花 and the harasser
According to her post, the man seemed unfazed by her reaction, saying "I did touch you. What can you do?" He also asked her if she had proof of harassment – "Did you take a picture of me touching you?" – and, when she told him to go die, responded with "Hey, after dying I’ll still follow you."
According to ScarLett_闲花, bystanders and subway staff alike mostly ignored her situation. Her Weibo post, however, was picked up by sympathetic netizens and spread online.
READ MORE: Shenzhen's New 'Female-Priority' Subway Cars a Total Bust?
By August 9, the Public Transport branch of Shenzhen's Public Security Bureau announced on Weibo that they'd launched an investigation into the incident.
Another Weibo post on the 22nd revealed that the suspect, a man surnamed Li, had been caught the previous day. Li has reportedly confessed to the harassment and is still being detained by police.
The post ends by advising subway passengers to stay vigilant and to shout loudly and/or directly ask others for help when being harassed. It also recommends calling 110 and dragging the harasser to the nearest 'public security unit,' although there's no word on the acceptability of slapping gropers on the face, as one Shanghai woman did last week.
[Images via ScarLett_闲花, Shenzhen Public Transport Sub-bureau]
0 User Comments