The article below is taken from the South China Daily on 21 July 2003.
Woman awaits verdict after an uphill battle to bring her grievances to court
Beijing woman Lei Reman, 25, has done what no other woman in the capital has ever done before: she has brought a man to court for sexual harassment.
She has not worked since she quit her job in 2001 after she claims she was sexually harassed by her department manager at the Founder Order Computer Company.
She took her manager to court in March and is now awaiting the verdict.
Ms Reman is suing for 50,000 yuan (HK$47,000) for damaging her reputation.
"He sexually harassed me on six separate occasions," she said. "After I left his company, he tried to prevent me from getting a new job in retaliation for my resignation, or perhaps in an effort to force me to come back to the company."
Launching the legal action was no small task, and Ms Lei faced several legal and social hurdles.
Sexual harassment, like domestic violence and marital rape, is not recognised as a crime on the mainland and those who wish to seek legal redress must sue on other grounds.
There is also a social taboo against causing trouble
Like most Chinese women, at first Ms Lei decided to accept the advice of family and friends and simply leave the company and find another job.
But after 15 months out of work she decided to sue her boss for damage to her character because she felt sure he had used "the connections he had built up within the industry over many years" against her.
Ms Lei has finally found a job and starts work as a real estate agent today.
In a similar groundbreaking case in Wuhan last month, a female teacher successfully sued her boss for "denying her right to human dignity" after he had sexually harassed her for more than a year. The verdict, which is now being appealed by the defendant, brought the issue into the open.
A TV series on sexual harassment called Women are Not Silent any Longer, was aired on several channels. It spurred further debate about the need for laws explicitly protecting workers.
A proposal to include a sexual harassment clause in the revised Women's Law will be presented to the National People's Congress at the end of this year, according to Wu Changzhen, of the Chinese Politics and Legal University, who is also director of the drafting committee.
Committee member Xia Yinlan said the main points were "how to define sexual harassment, how to prove its occurrence and how to compensate the victims". She said it was also essential to get laws on the books.
While Ms Lei waits for her verdict, the defendant's lawyer is convinced his client will win.
"Ninety nine per cent of what she says is utterly unbelievable," he said. "The evidence she has presented is at best inconclusive and at worst irrelevant."
But Ms Lei is convinced that the evidence she has presented is enough to secure a verdict in her favour. And she is not going to drop the matter without a fight. "If I lose the case this time, I will not give up. I will appeal to a higher court."
Woman awaits verdict after an uphill battle to bring her grievances to court
Beijing woman Lei Reman, 25, has done what no other woman in the capital has ever done before: she has brought a man to court for sexual harassment.
She has not worked since she quit her job in 2001 after she claims she was sexually harassed by her department manager at the Founder Order Computer Company.
She took her manager to court in March and is now awaiting the verdict.
Ms Reman is suing for 50,000 yuan (HK$47,000) for damaging her reputation.
"He sexually harassed me on six separate occasions," she said. "After I left his company, he tried to prevent me from getting a new job in retaliation for my resignation, or perhaps in an effort to force me to come back to the company."
Launching the legal action was no small task, and Ms Lei faced several legal and social hurdles.
Sexual harassment, like domestic violence and marital rape, is not recognised as a crime on the mainland and those who wish to seek legal redress must sue on other grounds.
There is also a social taboo against causing trouble
Like most Chinese women, at first Ms Lei decided to accept the advice of family and friends and simply leave the company and find another job.
But after 15 months out of work she decided to sue her boss for damage to her character because she felt sure he had used "the connections he had built up within the industry over many years" against her.
Ms Lei has finally found a job and starts work as a real estate agent today.
In a similar groundbreaking case in Wuhan last month, a female teacher successfully sued her boss for "denying her right to human dignity" after he had sexually harassed her for more than a year. The verdict, which is now being appealed by the defendant, brought the issue into the open.
A TV series on sexual harassment called Women are Not Silent any Longer, was aired on several channels. It spurred further debate about the need for laws explicitly protecting workers.
A proposal to include a sexual harassment clause in the revised Women's Law will be presented to the National People's Congress at the end of this year, according to Wu Changzhen, of the Chinese Politics and Legal University, who is also director of the drafting committee.
Committee member Xia Yinlan said the main points were "how to define sexual harassment, how to prove its occurrence and how to compensate the victims". She said it was also essential to get laws on the books.
While Ms Lei waits for her verdict, the defendant's lawyer is convinced his client will win.
"Ninety nine per cent of what she says is utterly unbelievable," he said. "The evidence she has presented is at best inconclusive and at worst irrelevant."
But Ms Lei is convinced that the evidence she has presented is enough to secure a verdict in her favour. And she is not going to drop the matter without a fight. "If I lose the case this time, I will not give up. I will appeal to a higher court."