Top News Reporter Wang Jingjing Chief Reporter Zhang Yifei
On the evening of July 21, Wang Li (pseudonym), a Ph.D. student at the School of Liberal Arts of Chinese University (hereinafter referred to as Renmin University College of Liberal Arts), posted a video on the Internet, reporting in real name that her mentor, Professor Wang Mouyuan, former party secretary and deputy dean of the School of Liberal Arts of Renmin University, had sexually harassed and forcibly molested her in May 2022, and asked for sexual relations. On July 22, the Chinese University issued a notice saying that the report was true, revoked his qualification for teaching positions at the Chinese University, and terminated the employment relationship. The Beijing Haidian Public Security Bureau also issued a notice saying that it had intervened in the investigation in accordance with the law.
In recent years, similar news has not been uncommon. In January 2018, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics notified Professor Chen Mouwu of sexual harassment; In December 2019, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics reported on the online rumor that Qian Mousheng had sexually harassed female students, saying that it seriously violated the professional ethics of teachers. In addition to these well-known cases of sexual harassment in colleges and universities, it is difficult for some similar cases to enter the public eye due to the characteristics of unequal rights and concealment.
In response to such sexual harassment incidents in colleges and universities, top news reporters interviewed education experts and corresponding lawyers concerned about this field, discussed the reasons for the continuous occurrence of sexual harassment incidents in colleges and universities, and gave corresponding suggestions.
This is not an isolated case
In Wang Li's report video, she attached an audio recording recorded on May 21, 2022. Wang Li accused the man in the recording of Professor Wang Mouyuan, former party secretary and vice president of the School of Literature of the National People's University, and the man can be clearly heard asking for a "kiss" in the recording. ”
Screenshot of a web video
In the face of direct recording evidence, Wang Li's report video attracted the attention of many netizens as soon as it was released, and the public left messages hoping that the school could give a relevant response as soon as possible.
On July 22, the Chinese University of China said it had set up a working group overnight to investigate and verify. On the evening of the same day, the Chinese People's University issued another circular, saying that after investigation, the report was true, and decided to expel Wang Mouyuan from the party, revoke the professor's title, cancel the qualification of graduate student supervisor, revoke his qualification for teaching at Chinese People's University, and terminate the employment relationship. At the same time, the school has reported to the higher education administrative department to revoke his teaching qualifications, and reported the clues to the relevant authorities in accordance with the law.
The official Weibo of Chinese People's University
The Beijing Haidian Public Security Bureau said that it had intervened in the investigation in accordance with the law in response to "a student studying at a university reporting that his tutor was suspected of violating the law". Currently, further work is underway.
At present, it seems that Wang Li's alleged sexual harassment incident has temporarily received the support and attention of the school and the judicial authorities, and she also personally issued a message expressing her gratitude to the school for its strict and speedy handling.
Top news reporters combed through and found that Wang Li's experience is not an isolated case, there have been several sexual harassment incidents in colleges and universities that have entered the public eye in recent years, and it is precisely similar incidents that have been continuously exposed, and the public's zero-tolerance attitude towards such incidents has become more and more resolute.
In January 2018, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics issued a notice, stating that in response to the recent real-name report on teacher Chen Mouwu and relevant media feedback, the school carried out investigation and verification work to find out that there was sexual harassment of students. After research, it was decided to revoke his position as executive vice president of the Graduate School, cancel his qualification as a graduate supervisor, revoke his position as a teacher, and cancel his teaching qualifications.
In December 2019, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics reported on the online rumor that Qian Mousheng had sexually harassed female students, saying that it seriously violated the professional ethics of teachers. After research and decision, Qian Mousheng was given the punishment of dismissal, and reported to the higher department for approval in accordance with the procedures; dismissal of associate professor from his professional and technical position; Revocation of his teaching credentials.
In 2023, the Ministry of Education will publicly expose the twelfth batch of 7 typical cases of violating the Ten Standards of Professional Conduct for Teachers (hereinafter referred to as "Typical Cases"), including a teacher at Huazhong University of Science and Technology who sexually harassed students, Chen Moumou, a teacher at Datong Middle School in Wanning City, Hainan Province, who sexually harassed students, and Chen, the principal of Tengxian No. 1 Middle School in Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Don't dare to report it
In the face of sexual harassment incidents in colleges and universities, it is rare for Wang Li to report with her real name on the Internet.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, told the top news reporter that the commonality of similar situations in domestic universities is that the tutor's sexual harassment of students is basically hidden, and students dare not report it. ”
Chu Zhaohui believes that the root cause of sexual harassment in colleges and universities is that mainland universities do not strictly define the academic and administrative powers of teachers, and are not transparent enough. "Scholars in colleges and universities belong to both disciplines and administrative organizations, and academic and administrative power coexist, and it is precisely in this mixed power structure that the possibility and disguise of teachers with bad intentions to profit greatly increases. Fundamentally, it is not a question of study style, but of administrative style. ”
As the lawyer representing the female student victim in the 2019 Qian Mousheng sexual harassment incident at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Wan Miaoyan, a lawyer from Sichuan Dingqi Law Firm, also accepted an interview with a top news reporter on Wang Li's report.
Wan Miaoyan said that under any unequal power relationship, it is easy to derive the high-ranking party who holds the resources at will, and manipulates the weaker party with power and rank with the pleasure of dominating others at will. However, the weaker side will often choose to be patient or even passively pandering to the initial provocation and offense. This lack of resoluteness leads the higher-ranking party to believe that the victim consents, and thus acts even more excessively.
Some common misconceptions about sexual harassment can also lead to victims being afraid to come forward.
Lawyer Lu Xiaoquan, executive director of Beijing Qianqian Law Firm, told top news reporters that these misunderstandings include the well-known "victim harm theory".
"The harassed person must also have a problem, otherwise how can he just harass her?" When sexual harassment becomes public, there are always similar sentiments in between. Lu Xiaoquan said that there are not a few people who hold this view. In his view, the root cause of this is the lack of a general gender perception when it comes to gender relations. "On the one hand, this stems from the stereotyped traditional notion that women are a curse, and on the other hand, it is an excuse for harassers to exonerate themselves. This is a classic victim guilt theory. ”
Lu Xiaoquan emphasized that sexual harassment is essentially a kind of gender discrimination, reflecting the unequal power relationship between the sexes, not simply opposites attracting, let alone love.
"To be clear, a power relationship is not simply the same as a superior-subordinate relationship, and in cases of sexual harassment (sexual assault) on campus, this superior-subordinate relationship is generally obvious." In addition, Lu Xiaoquan said that the gap in experience between the two sides, the identity of the elders, the role positioning of both parties in the teaching process, the traditional understanding of the relationship between teachers and students, and the small authority in business relationships are all manifestations of unequal power relations.
Lu Xiaoquan also agrees with Wan Miaoyan's point of view, he suggests that the correct attitude of victims to sexual harassment should be a firm and clear rejection, "Generally speaking, if you choose to be patient at this time, it will give the harasser an illusion, he will think: you are silent, it means that you are willing to accept, but you are just embarrassed to express it; Or it means that you are weak and can be bullied. Either way, it will drive him to continue to engage in harassing behavior. ”
The top news reporter found that in the above-mentioned "Typical Cases", only the teachers involved were punished with demerits, degrading their job grades, expelling, and revoking their teaching qualifications, based on the "Ten Guidelines for the Professional Behavior of College Teachers/Primary and Secondary School Teachers in the New Era" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines").
It is understood that several codes of conduct for teachers in colleges and universities, primary and secondary schools, and kindergartens are from the departmental regulations issued and implemented by the Ministry of Education on November 8, 2018. In 2019, the Ministry of Education also replied to the "Proposal on Paying Attention to Sexual Harassment Incidents in Mainland Universities and Establishing a Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in Mainland Universities" put forward by the delegates to the Second Session of the 13th National People's Congress, saying that some universities have not yet set up special committees for the prevention of sexual harassment, and the special work system is not yet perfect. Until now, according to statistics from The Paper, some alumni and students of more than 40 universities have called for the establishment of a sexual harassment prevention mechanism.
It is important to collect evidence in a timely manner
This time, Wang Li's real-name report was able to get the results of the investigation so quickly, and the recording evidence she released contributed to it. "As long as her recording evidence is complete, continuous, and unabridged, it can be used as evidence that Wang Mouyuan is suspected of forcible indecency." Wan Miaoyan told top news reporters that when the victim is determined to be sexual harassment, audio and video evidence like Wang Li is valid, "Calm down, collect evidence, and report publicly or privately." ”
As a victim of sexual harassment in colleges and universities, they also need to face the obstacles they may encounter when defending their rights, "The rights protection of students involved in sexual harassment in colleges and universities often show that they will be ignored when there is no public opinion, and when there is public opinion, the school will be excessively fast, and even attribute criminal offenses such as rape and forcible indecency to sexual harassment. Wan Miaoyan said.
Wan Miaoyan suggested that victims should be aware that they have a natural ability to control and defend their own sexual rights, "College students are not bad at collecting and sorting out evidence because of their high level of education, so they must have the mentality that evil does not prevail over good, insist on reporting, and must firmly believe that although justice will come late, they must also firmly believe that their personality is equal to that of teachers." ”
Lu Xiaoquan also believes that it is very important to collect evidence in a timely manner after sexual harassment, "Timely collection of evidence and preservation of all evidence is the key to effective legal rights protection." ”
Lu Xiaoquan said that the victim usually uses audio and video recording tools when contacting the harasser according to the situation (the evidence should be collected without showing traces, otherwise not only will the evidence not be obtained, but also may be in personal danger). Pay attention to keep electronic documents with harassing information such as mobile phone text messages, emails, WeChat, QQ chat records, etc., do not delete electronic information, and notarize relevant electronic data (especially online posts) to avoid being deleted by the other party.
After being harmed, they shall immediately go to the hospital for examination, and receive relevant psychological counseling and psychological treatment according to the specific circumstances, treat mental trauma, and retain a record of medical diagnosis.
Lu Xiaoquan said that after reporting a complaint to the unit manager, the unit manager should assist in obtaining relevant evidence, such as surveillance video, witness testimony, work-related records, and assisting the victim to report to the police. Call 110 to call the police in a timely manner (especially in cases of sexual harassment by acquaintances), the police should promptly inspect the scene, collect physical evidence, examine the victim's body, obtain surveillance video, and question relevant witnesses, which is very important evidence.
Chat records before and after the incident, traffic records and monitoring records in and out of the accident site, communication and confirmation between the two parties after the incident, and the victim's help, complaints, reports, and medical treatment records after the incident.
Lu Xiaoquan also suggested that it is hoped that this matter can promote the establishment of a mechanism for the prevention and control of sexual harassment in colleges and universities.
Chu Zhaohui also suggested that in addition to separating the academic and administrative powers in the hands of university teachers, there should also be open and transparent supervision of teachers' ethics and teaching style, "on the premise of protecting students' privacy, establish a special reporting channel to ensure privacy." ”
In addition, he suggested that the sexual harassment of students by university teachers should not only be punished at the school administrative level, and that in similar incidents that have occurred frequently in recent years, teachers who have been punished are rarely punished by law. "Can a teacher's bad behavior towards a student reach a certain level, can it be handed over to the judicial department and go through the judicial process?" Chu Zhaohui said, "The cost of violating the law is high, and it can also reduce the frequency of such incidents." ”