Outrage as men beat up women in china restaurant
Nine people have been arrested for a vicious attack on a group of women at a restaurant in China, police said Saturday, in a case that has sparked outrage over predatory sexual behaviour.
Footage of the incident widely circulated online shows a man placing his hand on a woman’s back as she shares a meal with two companions at a barbecue restaurant in northern China’s Hebei province.
After the woman pushes him away, the man strikes her before others drag her outside and deal a barrage of blows as she lies on the ground. Another woman is also knocked to the floor.
The video renewed an online debate about sexual harassment and gender-based violence in China where the conversation around women’s rights has grown in recent years despite pressure from a patriarchal society, internet censorship and patchy legal support.
Campaigners say domestic abuse remains pervasive and under-reported while prominent feminists also face regular police harassment and detention.
Web censors blocked keywords linked to the #MeToo movement after a wave of women accused university professors of sexual harassment in 2018.
Police in Tangshan city on Saturday said they had arrested nine people on suspicion of violent assault and “provoking trouble”, adding that “the case is being further investigated”.
Two women treated at hospital following the incident were “in stable condition and not in mortal danger”, while two others sustained minor injuries, authorities said Friday.
The attack generated hundreds of millions of comments on social media, where users slammed predatory behaviour and urged authorities to crack down on violence against women.
5 men in Tangshan (唐山), Hebei province, brutally assaulted a woman in a restaurant after she turned down unwanted attention from one of them. The woman suffered serious injuries, and the attack has sparked furious demands to address misogyny in China.
🔻 video – part #1
1/n pic.twitter.com/5ssWohzWEt
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) June 11, 2022
The second video shows what happened outside the restaurant
🔻 video – part #2
2/n pic.twitter.com/PJeATKOkFp
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) June 11, 2022