A report on workplace sexual harassment of female journalists in China

Huang Xueqin

1. Foreword
   II. Breakdown of respondents’ data
   III. Analysis of harassment incidents
   IV. Analysis of perpetrators
   V. Analysis of locations where sexual harassment occurred
   VI. Victims’ responses and impacts
   VII. Actions taken by employers and police
   VIII. A survey of anti-harassment measures, and how they are enforced
   IX. Conclusion and recommendations

I. Foreword

1. The rationale behind the survey

 In mid-2016, a female student at Jinan University in Guangzhou was sexually harassed by a reporter at the newspaper where she worked as an intern. Although this caused an uproar on the internet, most media outlets did not pick up the news.

However, this was far from an isolated incident in the media industry. Between 2010 and 2014, I have experienced and seen for myself other female journalists suffering sexual harassment: attractive female anchors were forced to accompany others for meals, drink, singing, and chatting; fearless investigative reporters bearing the brunt of sexual jokes at dinner parties and other gatherings; higher-ups under the influence of drink taking off their pants in front of female journalists. Some journalists have even been raped.

During an August 2017 conversation with 16 journalists from 13 countries, of whom nine were female, five of the women said that they had been the victim of various acts of harassment during their careers, including being groped in the chest, fondled in the buttocks by an associate editor, and forced to drink by local officials.

As the #MeToo movement swept the world that October, noted CBS host Charlie Rose was accused of sexual harassment by 13 women, and New York Times White House correspondent Glenn Thrush was also accused of improper conduct toward young female journalists. Likewise, Jonathan Kaiman, Beijing bureau chief for The Los Angeles Times and former chair of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Beijing, was accused of engaging in “non-consensual sexual activity.”

These incidents show that workplace harassment in the media industry is not uncommon.

According to a Twitter survey in 2014, female journalists are three times more likely to receive insulting comments than their male counterparts. As the Committee to Protect Journalists notes, these attacks broadly express the same sentiment: “Women who talk too much need to get raped.” 

The United Nations Correspondents Association has also reminded its members of what constitutes sexual harassment, including calling female colleagues “dear” or “darling,” making sexual jokes in or kissing sounds toward colleagues of the opposite gender, spreading rumours about others’ sexual past, and gifting intimate personal items to others of the opposite gender. 

Even for female journalists, who are often perceived as holding more prominent jobs–with more power, resources, and the will to speak out–workplace harassment remains an issue just as it does for women in other careers. 

Ironically, even as they speak out for the rights of other vulnerable groups, they have lost their voice when it comes to their own struggles. Dealing with workplace harassment has become a major challenge for women in the workforce. 

How many of China’s female journalists have suffered workplace harassment? Do newspapers, magazines, and other media outlets have regulations and training to prevent workplace harassment? How should we prevent and protect ourselves from workplace harassment? To answer these questions, I initiated this survey to understand the true nature of workplace harassment faced by female journalists in China. 

2. How the survey was conducted

For the “Survey on sexual harassment experienced by female journalists in China,” an online questionnaire was sent to female journalists across the country. In the questionnaire, “sexual harassment” was defined as “unwelcome sexual advances, sexual requests, and other verbal, non-verbal, or physical behaviour related to sex,” under three main categories: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. 

Workplace sexual harassment specifically refers to sexual harassment under professional settings. Unlike harassment perpetrated by strangers in public settings, workplace harassment occurs in specific contexts, and perpetrators may often be employers, bosses, supervisors, coworkers, subordinates, clients, and other “acquaintances” of the victim. Because of this, victims tend more often to remain silent. 

The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions, covering the definition and forms of sexual harassment, the identity of the perpetrator, the situation, setting, and frequency of the incidents, the victim’s response, the aftermath, how employers and police responded, and mechanisms for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. 

The survey was launched on 20 October 2017 via the grassroots media platform ATSH (Anti-Sexual Harassment), and distributed to journalist-specific chat groups on Tencent QQ (some with nearly 2,000 journalists) and WeChat, as well as sent via private message to 207 female journalists on WeChat and Weibo. In addition, physical copies were sent via mail to 39 female journalists, and other online media groups—such as the Guangzhou Gender Education Centre, Feminist Voices, and Meitongshe—also helped circulate the questionnaire. As of 25 November 2017, a total of 1,762 people took part in the survey, with 416 valid responses gathered. 

For the last part of the survey, I invited respondents to take courage and step out (either anonymously or under their real names) to describe how they were sexually harassed in the workplace. Of these, 89 people left messages about their experiences of harassment in varying degrees of detail, and 21 left emails saying they were willing to elaborate further, including Luo Qianqian, a PhD graduate of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. A further 37 female journalists shared their detailed accounts with me using email and private messages, and five took photos in support of #MeToo.

3. Acknowledgements

After the survey was launched, I received many calls of support from colleagues and friends, but of course there were also voices of criticism and opposition. As a media professional myself, I stand steadfast in my professionalism.

This report does not intend to tarnish the reputation of the media industry. Rather, it seeks to confront the issue of workplace sexual harassment within the industry, and answer the following questions: What kinds of people in the media industry have experienced or are experiencing workplace sexual harassment, and what are the specific circumstances? Who are the perpetrators, what are their identities, and what is their relationship to the victims? Under which circumstances is workplace sexual harassment more likely to occur? How did the victims respond, and what were the lasting effects? Is there a demand for education and training on preventing workplace sexual harassment? What preventive measures and mechanisms currently exist within the media industry?

To gain a more complete understanding of the situation, I reached out to 32 domestic newspapers, magazines, grassroots media, and online media outlets–as well as the Chinese bureaus of 13 foreign media organisations–to learn about what specific measures are in place to prevent workplace sexual harassment, with the hope of drawing on effective practices and offering suggestions. Unfortunately, to this day, not a single media organisation has indicated that it has clear workplace training, policies, or mechanisms to counter workplace sexual harassment. I am deeply grateful to colleagues in the industry who took their time in offering detailed information and answers.

There are many people I need to thank during this process. To my mentors and friends who offered advice, thank you for your invaluable input. My gratitude also goes to industry colleagues who used their platforms to help spread awareness; the Guangzhou Gender Education Centre for their help with printing; volunteers who helped with translation, proofreading, and design; and, of course, the countless respondents who participated in the survey and shared their personal experiences with me. Too many for me to name each one. All of you helped make this report possible.

Huang Xueqin

II. Breakdown of respondents’ data

The 416 valid responses came primarily from major cities and more highly developed provinces in China with a high concentration of media organisations. In particular, 68% of respondents were located in Guangdong province, Beijing, or Shanghai. Respondents in the provinces of Hubei, Zhejiang, and Shandong contributed as well. In addition, a few responses came from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan–although these only accounted for a small fraction of the total.

The survey respected the respondents’ diversity in sexual orientation: of the 416 respondents, 83.5% were heterosexual, 8.5% were bisexual, 3.3% were homosexual, and 4.7% were unclear about their own sexual orientation.

 In terms of age, 86.2% of respondents were either between 18–24 or 25–34 years old; most women in these age groups are in the workforce.

Even though the intended target of this survey was clearly defined, and distribution was likewise relatively accurate, a breakdown of the respondents’ occupations shows that 52.1% work in other jobs, 26.7% are print journalists, and 13.5% are editors. Only 49.6% of surveyed former journalists still work in the media industry.

In terms of the respondents’ jobs at the time of the survey, only 21.5% still remained at newspapers, 15.4% worked at internet media outlets, and 7.2% worked at television stations. More than half (50.4%) had found work in other fields.

Summary

The above data shows that most respondents came from major cities and developed regions, and they were mostly aged 18–34. Moreover, judging from statistics on their current employment, we can see that the media industry has been losing a large amount of talent in recent years.

Although much attention has long focused on brain drain in the media industry, few have considered the deeper reasons behind the phenomenon: for many female journalists, the decision to leave the industry is due not just to declining income and the ever-dwindling space for journalism, but also because they have to endure workplace sexual harassment from their supervisors and peers. 

If the media sector wishes to retain talent, creating a gender-equal, friendly, and healthy work environment is a critical issue.

Personal statements

Over the past five years, I’ve worked at several newspapers, from interning as an undergrad to formal work after graduating from university. Without exception, there were always sleazy middle-aged male bosses or older men. They relied on a bit of talent, and some even had some reputation, yet their eyes were all filled with lust. At first, they would take advantage of leisure activities outside of work, such as singing in karaoke bars or department gatherings, and say provocative things under the guise of singing: “Are you lonely tonight?” “You sit on the bedside, this brother of yours doesn’t want to leave yet.” Under the influence of alcohol, then would then make all sorts of attempts—patting my head, holding my waist, squeezing my hand. If they got away with it, they’d escalate into bear hugs. During a business trip, one of the bosses even sent his hotel room number to my phone. When I saw it, I felt a surge of anger and humiliation… Unfortunately, I was too young and timid back then, so I didn’t know what to do, nor whom to turn to for help. I could only stare at my phone and cry. 

It’s just so ironic: with our pens and tongues, we consider ourselves to be voices for the people, defenders of the rights of the vulnerable, yet we are ashamed to stand up for our own rights. I’ve also witnessed many colleagues being sexually harassed, especially the girls in the advertising department: they’d either be dragged out to drink with clients at night, or to sing karaoke. One night, I saw a new girl, fresh out of school, puking downstairs from the newspaper office. I asked her what happened, and she said she hadn’t expected the media to be this dirty. She wanted to go throw up in the boss’s office but didn’t have the strength to climb upstairs, so she just threw up downstairs. Less than a week later, the girl quit. I saw so much sexual harassment, yet people in the newspaper seemed to have grown used to it. This distorted my view of the workplace for a long time. 

Later, by chance, I met that girl again and asked her how she had the courage to resign. She said that the day after she vomited, she told what happened to two older friends who worked at other newspapers. They weren’t surprised at all, and they told her to either learn to find ways to deflect these advances, or pluck up the courage and change jobs as soon as possible. She said she smelled the strong stench of rot in the media industry, and made the decision to leave. 

I held on until two years ago, by which point there was really nothing in the media worth holding on to. I resigned together with three other colleagues. The company I’m at now is a start-up, and so far, I haven’t witnessed any sexual harassment. When I talk with the friends who quit together with me, we all lament about how dirty the environment inside the media has become. If you step away, you’ll find there’s sunshine and fresh air in the vast sea and open sky. 

Sexual harassment is so widespread in the media industry, yet so rarely reported—this is all because such incidents are generally ignored. This is closely tied to the fact that older men in the industry have now climbed to the top of the ladder, where they lay claim to both authority and the power to decide the main discourse. Under such an environment, female journalists are leaving in droves, leading to a loss of talent in the industry and an even more toxic environment.

From a 27-year-old at a newspaper in southern China

I was a reporter at a daily newspaper. Revenue in 2014 was low, so the newspaper gave us all subscription quotas. I was responsible for fifty subscriptions, in addition to a target of adding 100,000 CNY in revenue!! When I went to a township to get the local officials to subscribe, they took us out for dinner. By the time we finished, it was already 10:30 p.m. The official said, “It’s too late, why don’t you stay the night? Tomorrow I’ll sign the contract with you, help you meet your target, and even give you some advertising.” 

I thought about how difficult it would be to report back without a signed contract. On top of that, my head was spinning from all the drink that had been forced on me (I’m from the northeast, and I used to think southerners were wimps drinking baijiu from those small cups). A sales colleague was with me too, so I figured he wouldn’t just leave me alone. After sending that official off, we stayed overnight at a hotel in the township.

What happened next was truly insane. I don’t remember if it was midnight or early morning, but the township official opened the door to my room when I was still in a daze. When I woke up the next morning, I was in shock and my whole body was aching. Seeing a stranger’s body next to me made me sick. The first thing I did was run into the bathroom, lock the door, turn on the water full blast, and cry while scrubbing myself again and again. I felt so dirty. I thought about calling the police, but my phone was outside, and I didn’t want to step out and see that disgusting man. I cried, hesitated, and agonised. After maybe half an hour of washing, I thought I heard the door lock, and only then did I dare to come out. That bastard had left 2,000 CNY and gone!!! 

Seeing that money was even more humiliating. But I truly didn’t know what to do. I called my salesman colleague, and he said he was still sleeping. We were just ordinary colleagues, so I didn’t dare tell him. I wanted to call that disgusting official to confront him, but only then did I realise I didn’t even have his phone number!!!! Suddenly I felt terrified again, and in the end I couldn’t do anything (I was such a coward). That day I went back without a signed contract. Later, my colleague said he managed to complete the subscription quota, but the advertising fee was lost. 

It was so fucking disgusting. Even worse, later on whenever I saw that township official, or even just the name of that township, I couldn’t help but feel sick. 

I quit my job a month later. I didn’t tell anyone the real reason—I couldn’t even bring myself to say something so vile. I didn’t dare confront the salesman who went with me, either. I don’t know if he knew or not, but I felt like he looked at me differently. I simply couldn’t take it. 

Fortunately, two years ago, I happened to see the news that that bastard had been detained for corruption and placed under shuanggui detention. That night, I went out and ate two-and-a-half kilos of crayfish to celebrate. He deserved it! I want to tell female journalists, and all other women too: it is absolutely not worth it to simply endure sexual harassment at work, or even sacrifice your body!

From a 29-year-old at a newspaper in southern China 

III. Analysis of harassment incidents 

83.7% of respondents reported having suffered sexual harassment of varying degrees and forms, while 42.4% said they had suffered sexual harassment more than once, and 18.2% reported having suffered five incidents or more.

Even though the questionnaire was issued to female journalists, victims were not limited to heterosexual women, as many homosexual and bisexual women also reported experiencing two or more incidents of sexual harassment. 11.69% of bisexual respondents said they had experienced two to four incidents, while 7.6% of homosexual respondents experienced more than five incidents.

Of the 176 journalists who suffered workplace sexual harassment two to four times, 52.6% were aged between 25 and 34. Of the 75 who experienced five or more incidents of harassment, 84.8% were aged between 18 and 34. Since most women between the ages of 18 and 34 are in the workforce, this age group naturally suffers the most in terms of workplace sexual harassment.

 The main categories of sexual harassment experienced by journalists were gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention, with the most common types including others making sexual jokes or discussing sexual topics without one’s consent or showing obscene text or images (48.2%); deliberate physical contact with one’s body or private parts without consent, causing one to feel disgust (46.3%); and staring with sexual or obscene intent without consent (39.9%).

 In terms of sexual coercion, 6.3% of respondents reported being forced into sexual acts.

Summary

Even though journalists are usually more adept at speaking out, more willing to voice opinions, and hold greater powers of discourse, they are often left helpless in terms of their response to sexual harassment. Of the 416 female journalists surveyed, 345 reported having experienced sexual harassment of varying degrees and forms, and 174 had encountered harassment more than once. The most common types of workplace harassment were sexual jokes, the display of obscene images, and deliberate physical contact with the body or private parts without consent.

Of particular note, 52.6% of the victims were in the 25–34 age group, which generally consists of recent graduates who are just entering the workforce and striving to build their careers. In addition to the pressures of competition, they are also confronted with more workplace sexual harassment than their male counterparts.

Personal statements

I am still a student majoring in journalism and communications. During the summer of my sophomore year, I did an internship at a TV station for an internship, which mainly consisted of doing odd jobs for others. I obeyed all the rules during my one month as an intern, and the regular employees all treated me well. 

The harassment happened a few days before I was about to leave. I went to our program director to get something signed. I walked up beside him (he had a private office), and after he finished signing the paper, he smiled and grabbed my hand (he was sitting, I was standing). I froze immediately. I didn’t understand what it meant, what he wanted to do by holding my hand. I vaguely remember him saying something like “pretty,” but the moment he grabbed my hand, my mind went blank, so I can’t recall his exact words. 

After that, I snapped back and pulled my hand away, then ran out. I didn’t stay in the office, but ran straight to the bathroom. I called my boyfriend—I was terrified. My first thought was to call my mum, but I was afraid she would get too worried and rush over. Since my boyfriend is a few years older and more mature, and he was also out of town, I called him instead. I was mainly afraid my parents would immediately rush over there if they found out. I cried as I talked to him. I was so scared. Even now, as a senior looking back, just remembering how scared I was back then still makes me want to cry. 

I only told one of my roommates about this incident. Since we all need to do internships in our senior year, I wanted to use my personal experience to warn her to be cautious. I also thought, if I had stood across his desk instead of beside him, maybe this wouldn’t have happened? In short, I told her to be careful. 

Compared to the many other cases of sexual harassment, mine may sound trivial, since it didn’t seem to cause much harm. But it gave me a huge psychological blow. It was my first exposure to the media after studying journalism, my first step into the world, and this was what I encountered. All I could do was cry and run away. When I saw this survey, the memory surged back. I was excited because finally someone was doing this. I hope safety and respect can become commonplace in the industry I dream of working in. Thank you.

A journalism student at a certain university

 During my two years as a photojournalist, I experienced sexual harassment three times, according to my count. The first time was when I was photographing an entrepreneur—actually just the boss of a company in a small township. His behaviour seemed unnatural. After ten minutes of shooting, he told his driver to bring in a bottle of red wine, saying a few sips would help him relax. He did become more relaxed during the photo shoot after a few glasses, but he also began to act more lewdly. He even called in his secretary to join in the photo shoot, put his arm around her waist, and seemed to pinch her butt. At the end, he said, “This reporter has been busy for so long, let someone else take a picture of us together.” I said it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted, saying that he would feel that I was looking down on him if I refused. I kept saying that was not my intent, but in my heart I despised him. Finally, he said, “Well, how about one photo, just one.” Unable to resist him any further, I unwillingly walked over and told the driver to just press the shutter button. As soon as I got close, the crass rich guy grabbed my waist with his right hand, hugged the secretary with his left, and shouted at her: “Quick, quick, take the photo!” And so the camera captured me with a stunned face, the boss with a disgusting grin, and the secretary with a forced smile. After it was over, I quickly walked away and said, “You’ve had too much to drink, I’ll show myself out.” After I left, the first thing I did was to turn on the camera and delete that unbearable photo. 

The second time was when I took part with other reporters in a group interview organised by the planning bureau. The location was far away, and they arranged for a minibus to take us there. I got on first and sat in the corner. Another reporter from a different outlet asked if he could sit next to me, I said sure. After chatting a bit, I fell asleep. While I was half awake, I felt something pressing against my chest. Squinting, I saw the reporter leaning toward the window to take photos, and as he held his camera, his elbow was pressing on my chest. I immediately woke up, sat up straight, and stared at him. He too was startled, quickly pulled his arm and camera back, and apologised, “Sorry, I woke you.” 

I stared coldly and asked him what he was doing. He blushed and said, “Taking some photos.” So he had to press on my chest to take his photos? He immediately whispered another apology, admitted he was wrong, begged me not to tell anyone, and promised it would never happen again. It looked like he had a lustful impulse. Since he apologised right away, and I didn’t want others to know I had been harassed, I didn’t pursue it further. 

The third time was during the Lunar New Year. The bosses were sending red envelopes in our group chat, and some colleagues sent stickers of scantily clad women kneeling in gratitude. I was disgusted by this, so I typed, “These images are in poor taste.” One of our bosses replied, “Maybe it would have been better taste if she was in bed?” No-one dared to speak up, maybe because he was one of our bosses. Everyone just kept sending New Year stickers and laughing it off. I was so disappointed.

A 26-year-old reporter at a certain Beijing newspaper

IV. Analysis of perpetrators

91% of perpetrators in workplace sexual harassment incidents were male, of which 40.9% were the victim’s supervisors and 30% were colleagues. 37.1% of the perpetrators were strangers, with classmates, interview subjects, and other people making up the rest. In addition, 8% of respondents said that they were sexually harassed by both males and females or by nonbinary individuals.

A cross-analysis of perpetrators’ identities and the types of sexual harassment reveals the following:

When the perpetrators were supervisors or colleagues, the most common forms of harassment were: making sexual jokes, talking about sexual topics, or showing obscene text or images without the victim’s consent (149 people); staring at the victim sexually or obscenely without the victim’s consent (134 people); and deliberately touching the victim’s body or private parts without the victim’s consent, and causing feelings of disgust (129 people).

Among relatives, the more frequent forms were: deliberately touching the victim’s body or private parts without the victim’s consent, and causing feelings of disgust (10 people); and indecent acts or exposure without the victim’s consent (9 people).

In cases where harassment came from interview subjects during reporting, the most common form was making sexual jokes, talking about sexual topics, or showing obscene text or images without the victim’s consent (38 people).

Summary

Among cases of sexual harassment in the media industry, 91% of respondents indicated that the perpetrators were male, with 40.9% being the victim’s supervisors and 30% being colleagues. This shows that in terms of educational efforts to prevent workplace sexual harassment, the focus should be on educating men, helping them to properly understand what constitutes sexual harassment, recognise the seriousness of the issue, and prevent them from becoming perpetrators themselves.

In terms of anti-sexual harassment training and education in the workplace, greater emphasis should also be placed on educating and disciplining those in positions of leadership and responsibility. A system of accountability for department or company heads should be established, employers should be held jointly liable, and oversight of those in positions of power should be reinforced.

Personal statements

I joined this newspaper six years ago. My boss would often chat with me on QQ, always starting with “baby” or “darling.” I asked one of my close colleagues about it, and she showed me her messages—turns out he called every female journalist “baby” or “darling.” 

Sometimes he would even send pornographic images of men and women, which I never replied to. In group chats, whenever a female journalist finished speaking, this boss would send sleazy images implying that he was lewdly gazing at her, or commenting on her good looks—you know, the kind of tacky pictures with glowing yellow and green backgrounds and big red text that middle-aged men love to use, showing how vulgar they are. 

At company dinners, the norm was that supervisors and executives sat at one table, and employees of each department sat at their own tables. But this boss would often purposely drag young female journalists over to the leaders’ table. While at the table, he would often tell dirty jokes, then squeeze the girls’ hands and ask, “Isn’t that right?” It was all unbearably awkward and disgusting. At first, I felt very uncomfortable, but later I noticed that everyone seemed to be used to it. Sometimes they even chimed in, including some female journalists as well. 

I once asked some of my close colleagues how they saw and dealt with all this. They said, the older generation of journalists mostly came up from the “streets” and had little formal training in journalism. Since they only had street smarts mixed with a roguish attitude, teasing and seeking amusement from women was almost a common failing of this older generation. Moreover, once they reached positions of power and authority, their ingrained sexism and rogue mentality became even more blatant. How do others deal with it? The clever and bold fend it off; the timid try to avoid them. The general way is to compromise or submit—it’s just pathetic. 

Later on, a colleague told me that a young intern who had just graduated from school compromised a few times and eventually got pregnant. The supervisor involved in this then divorced his wife and married the intern. What began as sexual harassment turned into an affair, and was then reframed as a “love story.” Honestly, it blew my mind. Even now, they still joke about it at company dinners, saying the girl has “won in life.” Ugh.

A 29-year-old at a newspaper group in Shanghai

Thank you, Xueqin, for your investigation. I’m that former colleague of yours—the one who was “cheerful, hot, fluent with her pen, and able to stand a joke”—and still ended up being sexually harassed by a boss. I truly admire your courage. The media industry, like any other, is rife with workplace sexual harassment. The difference is that the media holds the power of discourse: it aims its gun at other sectors of the workforce, but refuses to expose its own ugliness.

This is the most critical issue: many people in the workplace—especially those in positions of power—don’t even acknowledge the concept of “sexual harassment” or “workplace sexual harassment,” instead preferring to frame it as a form of “exchange.” These people are completely blind to the power imbalance, the unequal access to resources, and women’s unwillingness. Worse still, they interpret that unwillingness as women “playing hard to get.” It’s ridiculous. Simply put, these people don’t believe in gender equality. Within their patriarchal worldview, it is simply normal to objectify and belittle women. And if this is the mindset of a company’s leadership, you can imagine the culture and atmosphere at such a company. XX News Agency is a prime example. 

Moreover, whether in highly developed cities or more closed-off towns, sexual harassment has only worsened. In the small town where I live now, groups of men harassing women is an everyday occurrence. What dinner gathering doesn’t involve men dragging along one or two women just to be teased? Among journalists, everyone knows each other, everyone runs in the same circles, and they all cover for one another. Harassing female journalists and interns is practically a group crime. If you refuse, you’re labelled narrow-minded and socially inept—and worst of all, you risk being ostracised. At this point, I don’t care any more, since I’m no longer in the media industry. But even in other fields, workplace sexual harassment is just as bad in small towns, if not worse. 

Now, I know much more clearly what I want. They can’t force me any more. I suppose that’s the price of growing up. For the younger women who don’t yet understand what truly matters, I hope your report can help them.

The path of resisting workplace sexual harassment is a hard one—it requires fighting against entrenched power. The questionnaire asks about whether media organisations have anti-harassment training or documentation in place, but I think that is not enough. There must also be an accountability system that holds top leaders responsible. But that is unfortunately a difficult task: who wants to set up rules only to restrict themselves? This is a long road indeed. 

It will also take another generation’s worth of progress in thought. Today’s post-90 and post-2000 generations already understand the concept of sexual harassment, and they recognise it more readily. That’s encouraging. We’ll outlive that old guard with their outdated ideas, won’t we? When those old fossils die out, victory will be ours.

A 30-year-old former reporter

V. Analysis of locations where sexual harassment occurred

Sexual harassment occurred in public places (offices, meeting rooms, archives, and restrooms) and private places (personal offices, private residences, and hotel rooms) at nearly the same frequency, at 43.8% and 37.7% respectively. In addition, 42.2% of harassment incidents occurred at public and entertainment venues (subways, buses, KTVs, restaurants). Taken together, this means that sexual harassment can occur in any environment.

As more and more social interaction occurs on the internet through social media, workplace sexual harassment has also become increasingly internet-based, with 31.6% of incidents occurring through phone calls, or in the form of dirty jokes and lewd images or videos sent via mobile phones.

Through cross-analysis of the places where sexual harassment occurs and the types of harassment that occur, it can be seen that gender harassment, as a relatively common form of harassment, occurs across all places. Both gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention account for a large proportion of incidents in both public and private places. More serious sexual coercion (20 journalists stated they had been forced into sexual acts) mostly occurs in private locations. 

Summary 

Newspapers, magazines, and other employers have the responsibility and obligation to create a safe and friendly working environment, strengthen workplace security, eliminate blind spots in surveillance, increase the attention given to workplace sexual harassment, and improve awareness of preventing sexual harassment.

Personal statements 

One night at nine o’clock, an editor called me and said to come back to the office to revise a draft. I took a cab back. There were only four or five people left in the office. I went to find the editor, and he told me to sit in his seat. His desk was in the innermost corner of the office, with a floor-to-ceiling window behind it. He pulled down the blinds, and while asking me about the details of my interview, he kept holding my hand and stroking my palm. In my mind, tens of thousands of grass-mud horses [translator’s note: euphemism for “fuck your mother”] were stampeding. Just when I felt I didn’t know what to do, I saw his thermos cup, and I deliberately flung the computer mouse toward it. When the mouse knocked into the cup, I deliberately screamed as I stood up. The editors in front heard me and rushed over to ask what happened. Only then did he release my hand, allowing me to escape. 

Another time, it was my roommate, a journalist at another media outlet, who received a call at night from the deputy chief editor telling her to come back to revise a draft. I told her not to go, any revisions can be done over the phone. 

Those people who keep calling you back to “revise drafts” late at night—revise drafts? Revise your damn self.

A 23-year-old at a certain newspaper in Beijing 

This incident was not work related, but happened on a subway platform. At the time, I was walking along the platform while dealing with work matters on my phone. A man walked toward me, deliberately bumped my arm, and touched my thigh. I immediately turned back and glared at him, only to see him walking on while constantly turning back to leer at me. When the train arrived, I got on and found that he followed me into the same carriage. I became frightened and quickly walked forward a few carriages, but he kept following me. When the subway’s door-closing signal sounded, I immediately jumped out of the train. I saw him inside the carriage still leering at me. I was extremely scared, so I took a train in the opposite direction and sought help from subway staff to report it. Two auxiliary police officers came and told me I couldn’t file a case because no harm was done. They just made a so-called “record” and took down my contact information. I told the two officers that they could see who it was if they simply checked the surveillance footage. I never received even a single phone call from them. After this incident, it took me two months before I had the courage to go back to that same subway station. Much to my surprise, a few months later, I saw that same man again at the sports centre. I immediately recognised his disgusting face. He again tried to bump into me as he passed by, still with that same leering grin. I could only hurry away.

An anonymous respondent 

VI. How victims responded, and impacts to the victim

After experiencing sexual harassment, 57.3% of victims chose to remain silent, endure the pain, or try to avoid the perpetrator. Only 3.2% reported the incident to their superiors or the human resources department at work, and a mere 0.6% called the police. In other words, among the 348 respondents who experienced sexual harassment, only two called the police.

 As for the reasons for remaining silent, 57.4% of victims said they were stunned and could not react in the moment, 48.6% said they did not know how to resist, 38.6% believed that experiencing sexual harassment would negatively impact their work or life, and 22.6% felt ashamed and disgraced.

In terms of the impacts of experiencing sexual harassment, 61.4% felt that their self-esteem was tarnished, leading to feelings of frustration and depression. 

A cross-analysis of the number of times sexual harassment was experienced and the impact of such experiences shows that, among the 176 victims who experienced sexual harassment more than twice, 44 felt that their regular interpersonal relationships and social interactions were severely affected, 22 said it severely affected their careers (such as leading them to resign or give up job transfers), 29 went on to suffer from long-term psychological depression, and 10 had tendencies toward self-harm or suicide.

Among the reasons for choosing not to report or complain to their employers or the police, 61.3% of victims believed reporting or complaining would be useless, and 48.9% were afraid that their private information might be leaked and further affect their career and personal life.

Summary 

Because workplace sexual harassment is usually sudden, and incidents usually take place in relatively secluded locations, most victims were unable to respond at that very moment. Even if they were able to react mentally, they did not know how to resist at the time. Even though journalists usually have stronger-than-normal information-gathering abilities and keener responses in the face of crises, this fact shows that they still lack the awareness, knowledge, and skills to prevent workplace sexual harassment. At the same time, the fact that victims feel ashamed and disgraced, and their worries that the experience will negatively impact their life and work, shows that society at large still stigmatises sex and lacks a proper understanding, which in turn affects progress in preventing workplace sexual harassment.

After experiencing sexual harassment, 61.4% of victims thought their self-esteem was damaged and felt frustrated. However, very few were willing to voice their complaints, and no-one was willing to publicly state that they had experienced sexual harassment. This may be related to the relatively strong self-esteem and greater pride of female journalists as a whole, so that in the event of sexual harassment, they might feel too concerned about face and pride to complain or call the police. 

Faced with the helplessness and contradictions of workplace sexual harassment, 16.3% of media professionals experienced sustained depression, and 12.4% of victims believed sexual harassment had severely affected their careers. The media industry is relatively “open” by its nature, as journalists need to interact with people from all walks of life, yet interviews are usually conducted in relatively private surroundings. Due to this contradiction, many victims of sexual harassment later find it difficult to rebuild trust with their interviewees, thus affecting their work. 

After experiencing sexual harassment, as many as 5.6% of victims had tendencies toward self-harm or suicide. This shows the importance of psychological counselling and support for victims at workplaces in the media industry. 

Personal statements 

The date was 15 July 2016, nine months after I began my first job at the newspaper, when I was 23 years old. As usual, I went out for an interview with our department head following his instructions. On the way back, he suggested taking a walk in a nearby park. I didn’t know this would lead to danger, so I casually agreed. In the park, my boss groped my chest twice, forcibly hugged and touched me, and uttered obscene words. The first time he tried to hug me, I was so frightened that I ran away, but before I could regain my composure, he forcibly hugged me again. 

After the incident, I held my silence for several months, feeling emotionally depressed as every day at work seemed to drag on and on. It wasn’t until the following March, when I learned that the boss was about to be transferred to another department, that I feared I would lose the chance to expose his deeds. At a department meeting, I publicly reported him for sexually harassing and molesting female subordinates. However, both the female supervisor and the newly assigned female department head unanimously demanded that I keep it secret, promising that they would request the company’s disciplinary committee to intervene and investigate. In reality, these higher-ups never responded. 

Two months later, I chose to leave the newspaper, to leave behind this place that had driven me into nightmares. This may sound ludicrous, but in the months after the incident, I was so depressed that I thought about jumping from my 13th-floor office. My apprehension only started to ease after I exposed that man for what he truly was. If someone asked me now to sum up the media industry in one sentence, in particular those middle-aged men in leadership positions, I would definitely say that the industry is basically a group of disgusting, despicable, sleazy, greasy men. As for why I generalise the entire industry like this, it is because of the deep trauma I suffered—the wounds might heal, but I will never forget.

A 25-year-old at a newspaper in Beijing

Because I was quite adept at writing human-interest pieces, the newspaper often assigned feature profiles to me. This was what led to my experiences of sexual harassment. The first interview subject who harassed me was a member of the CPPCC. It was summer, I was wearing a dress, and during the interview I had one leg crossed. Maybe the skirt was a bit short, so when he was answering my questions, he kept glancing at my thighs. I had no choice but to put my notebook on my legs, and take notes while interviewing. Even when I was furiously taking notes, he would use the tip of his shoe to “accidentally” brush against my calf. 

Another time, I was interviewing a young foreign entrepreneur at a hotel café. He bear-hugged me when we met. That hug went far beyond a normal greeting, I could clearly feel his chest pressing against mine. This “greeting” made me very uncomfortable, so I conducted the interview strictly adhering to the outline. He tried to hug me again when I left, but I swiftly dodged. These two features ended up terrible, but no matter how much the editor pushed me, I refused to meet them again for follow-up interviews. After being harshly criticised for my work, I rarely got important profile assignments any more. 

From then on, whenever I had to interview male subjects, I always asked the magazine to send a photojournalist with me. It became hard to establish trust with interviewees, and I even felt extra caution and resistance toward my male supervisors and colleagues. This has to some extent affected the quality of my writing and my work performance, which in turn has affected my income and opportunities for promotion.

A 26-year-old at a magazine in southern China 

How should I put it? I’d always longed to become a journalist, a lawyer, or a police officer, because I felt that these professions carried a sense of justice in fighting for the people. But once I entered the media industry, I saw that ideals look much more appealing than reality. When confronting workplace sexual harassment, I didn’t know how to properly deal with such incidents, even when I myself was the victim. 

The first person to harass me was our top supervisor, who had just transferred to our unit when I came onboard. One evening, he invited everyone to his home for a “housewarming party.” I went with two other new hires, both of them women. When we arrived, we quickly realised it was all female reporters. Only one male colleague was there, and he was quickly sent out to buy drinks. 

The boss was 60 years old, old enough to be a grandfather. At first, none of us were on our guard. But while cooking in the kitchen, he used excuses like “this beef is cut too thick” to pinch your hand, or “this needs more salt” to squeeze your waist. He did this not just to me, but to others as well. We were all staring at each other, not knowing how to react or what to say—it was all very awkward. 

After dinner, everyone quickly thought of an excuse and left. We remained silent about the experience even on our way home. At the time, we simply thought that this boss was a bit pervy, without really understanding what sexual harassment was. Later on, we all tried our best to avoid him. 

Another perpetrator was the department director. He was never inappropriate toward me during my first year. But in the middle of the second year, he suddenly called me one day, saying he felt a bit gloomy and wanted me to keep him company. I thought it was strange, but since he had looked after me for over a year and never shown any inappropriate intentions, I talked to him on the phone for more than an hour. I don’t even remember what we talked about. I only remember that after that day, he began constantly texting and calling me, saying that his relationship with his wife had soured, he wanted a divorce, but was worried about the impact on his child. I just thought he needed someone to vent to, so I comforted him as best I could.

One night, I think it was around midnight, he called and said he was outside, and he wanted me to come out for a walk. I said I couldn’t because it was so late. He said he really needed to talk to me. I refused, but he came by taxi to my place, and asked me to come down and just chat with him for a bit. I went downstairs reluctantly. As soon as he saw me, he hugged me tightly and said, “You understand me the best.” I was shocked. Then he kissed me!!! It was only when he kissed me that I snapped out of it and shouted at him to let me go. I must have startled him with my loud voice, because he quickly covered my mouth and said, “Don’t shout.” He pressed hard, and I didn’t want to cause a big fuss, so I nodded. Only then did he release his hand. I bent over, breathing heavily, and told him to show some respect. He still tried to hug me again, but just then a car passed by with glaring headlights. He raised his hand to shield himself, and I seized the chance to run back inside. He kept on messaging me afterward, at first apologising, then confiding that he loved me. I was overwhelmed by humiliation, so I deleted every message. I later realised this was foolish: I should have kept the messages as evidence. 

Fearing his late-night calls, I began shutting off my phone after 10 p.m. every night. I was afraid of seeing him again, so I avoided the office whenever possible, going straight back home after interviews to write, and always sitting in the back during department meetings. I endured this for half a year, but never thought of reporting him. In my mind, being sexually harassed was utterly disgraceful, and it would be shameful if I let everyone know what happened. Especially because my parents always proudly said to our relatives, “Our daughter is a journalist in the provincial capital—impressive, isn’t she?” Seeing my mother’s face beaming with pride, I always felt a sense of guilt.

 Later on, when a TV station back in my hometown was hiring, I left without hesitation. I left quietly. 

I thought everything could slowly fade away, that I could return to the right path and start again. But I found I no longer loved my profession. I grew to detest the journalist community, especially senior male reporters who had climbed up because of their so-called experience. I had a degree of wariness and resentment toward some of my male interviewees, which to some extent affected my work quality. I always shut off my phone after 10 p.m., even though I was reprimanded several times for missing breaking news because of it. Not long ago, I saw your article and survey in a former colleague’s social media post, and I actually cried while reading it. 

You are right—those who have been hurt carry wounds that were hastily covered up and never properly treated. We endure in silence, and hurry along our way. As time passes, we grow and think the scars have healed, but they still ache in the background. Maybe it is as you have said: only by reopening the wound and letting the clotted blood flow out, can we truly heal. 

Thank you. I hope that by sharing my experience, I can help me heal myself, and also offer courage to more female journalists.

A 28-year-old at a TV station in southern China 

VII. Actions taken by employers and police

After experiencing sexual harassment, only 3.2% of respondents (13 journalists) chose to summon the courage and report the incident to higher-ups or human resources. However, of these 13 people, only one employer imposed a severe punishment on the perpetrator, while one gave the perpetrator a verbal reprimand, and the rest either feigned ignorance or told the victim not to make it public.

Therefore, in terms of satisfaction with response and handling, only 3.3% expressed being very satisfied. Among those who reported to the police, only 0.4% were satisfied with how the police handled the case.

As for how employers or the police should handle workplace sexual harassment, respondents believed the most important aspects were to severely punish the perpetrator (63.5%) and maintain confidentiality (57.1%).

Summary 

From the data regarding how employers dealt with these incidents, and how satisfied the victims were regarding the response of their employers or the police, it is clear that respondents generally lack trust in societal mechanisms for dealing with sexual harassment. Employers and public security authorities should improve their understanding and knowledge of sexual harassment, attach greater importance and sensitivity to such incidents, improve their efficiency and ability in handling such cases, and establish trust between victims and their employers or the police. 

At the same time, when dealing with workplace sexual harassment, attention should be paid to ensure that the victim’s personal information remains confidential, and that the perpetrator receives severe punishment. 

Personal statement 

I’m fond of fashionable and sexy things, and after graduating from school, I finally managed to land a job at a fashion magazine. As soon as I joined, the editor-in-chief (a woman) demanded that since we were doing fashion, we needed to keep our clothing and appearance fashionable as well, and our mindset had to keep up with the times. These were exactly my strengths. Because of my tall figure (168 cm), whatever I wore stood out, and colleagues—especially male ones—often stared at me. Sometimes if I wore a camisole or put on something more sexy, the men would gaze at me with even more blatant lust. A male colleague even slapped my butt once, then laughed and pretended that it wasn’t a big deal, saying, “This skirt is nice, makes your butt look really perky. Only you can pull off wearing this colour.” Since he quickly sat back down and acted like nothing happened, I didn’t feel comfortable making a scene. Later during a company meal, after I felt emboldened by a few drinks, I questioned him about the incident. I was shocked when he said, “Didn’t you dress like that just to be praised? I slapped you as a form of praise. And besides, you don’t look like such an uptight person anyway.” Furious, I complained to the editor-in-chief that night, but she only said she would tell him to be more mindful next time and didn’t give him any punishment. 

In addition, the head of the marketing department would come to our editorial department every few days to show off: “Today I closed another 100,000 CNY deal. How are my little sisters going to thank me? Don’t be a no-show tonight, okay?” He even pulled out his phone more than once to show me pictures of foreign swimsuit models, saying things like, “You look a bit like this foreign chick. You’re not moonlighting on the side, are you?” or, “Look, this woman’s boobs aren’t as nice as yours…” The male colleague (the same one who slapped my butt) would chime in, “Ohhh, you’ve seen them? Touched them? How do you know?”

Many times, I seriously doubted whether I’d joined a fashion magazine or a porn magazine. During a department meeting, I raised the issue of sexual harassment at the magazine. The editor-in-chief dismissed it, saying that some dirty jokes were harmless, that everyone was under a lot of pressure, and telling jokes was just a way to relieve stress and shouldn’t be taken to heart. No one at the magazine committed more serious sexual harassment against me, but the constant dirty jokes, innuendos, and deliberate belittling of women in both speech and behaviour really left me disheartened. 

The more substantial sexual harassment came from a stranger. Once, I entered the elevator while wearing a short skirt, and a man groped my chest. I screamed, and the man ran out when the elevator doors opened. I went to the police station to report that someone had sexually harassed me, but the two policemen who received me (both male) looked me up and down with disdain. Furious, I asked, “So just because I dress a bit more sexy, I deserve to be groped? I deserve to be sexually harassed?” The two policemen exchanged a smile. One pursed his lips and said, “At least you know. That means you’re aware of the risks of dressing like that. So you have to bear the consequences.” The other told me that without evidence, they couldn’t file a case and asked me to go home. I demanded that they retrieve the elevator surveillance footage, but they said the camera was just for show and wasn’t even turned on. I said I needed to see for myself to believe it. They grew impatient: “We’re dealing with assault cases, murder cases. Somebody touched you, that’s not rape, so don’t make a fuss.” I said that being touched is enough to cause psychological harm, which still counts as damage, and I’d file a complaint if they didn’t take my case. Under the threat of a complaint, they finally checked the camera, and indeed it hadn’t been turned on. No evidence, no video—helpless, I had no choice but to give up. But I demanded the police at least make sure the camera was turned on to prevent other incidents of harassment. The police said that was the responsibility of property management and told me to ask the building’s manager. 

After a week of back-and-forth with the property management, the elevator camera was finally turned on. But even today, I still don’t dare to ride the elevator alone.

A 34-year-old at a fashion magazine

VIII. A survey of anti-harassment measures, and how they are enforced 

74.4% of respondents believe that workplaces need to carry out training and lectures on the prevention and control of sexual harassment, and implement rules pertaining to such incidents. However, the survey shows that 84.3% of respondents’ media organisations have not provided any training, courses, or lectures on preventing sexual harassment.

 Only 3% of respondents said their workplace had conducted training or lectures on the prevention of sexual harassment.

I left inquiries with 32 domestic newspapers, magazines, grassroots media, and online media outlets–as well as 13 foreign media organisations stationed in China–asking about what specific measures and methods they have in place for preventing workplace sexual harassment. So far, not a single media organisation has indicated that they have explicit anti-workplace sexual harassment training, regulations, or mechanisms.

On the night when CBS host Charlie Rose was accused of sexual harassment, journalists at a certain foreign media organisation stationed in China received an email from headquarters that offered information about sexual harassment, but it only required that journalists strictly abide by professional ethics.

Summary

In terms of education to prevent workplace sexual harassment, there is a stark contrast between demand and the current situation: journalists have a strong demand for training, lectures, and courses on the subject–yet only one foreign media organisation in China has ever issued documentation in this regard. 

Lectures, courses, and training on the prevention of workplace sexual harassment should be introduced across the media industry and other lines of work, and mechanisms for dealing with workplace sexual harassment should be established, along with the implementation of relevant rules.

IX. Conclusion and recommendations 

The aim of this survey is to understand the conditions, attitudes, and impacts of sexual harassment faced by female journalists in the media industry, in order to provide a basis for establishing prevention mechanisms, and offer suggestions in this regard 

Survey respondents were mainly concentrated in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, as well as highly-developed coastal regions and provinces. To some extent, the survey reflects how female journalists in the media industry in relatively developed urban areas encounter sexual harassment, as well as the absence of prevention mechanisms in media organisations. 

Of course, this survey does have certain limitations due to the scientific requirements of the questionnaire, the unpredictability of online distribution, sample bias, and individual capabilities. It would be advised to proceed with caution, if one were to infer generalised results for the entire media industry in China from this one-off survey. 

This survey began on 20 October 2017, and lasted for more than a month. A total of 1,762 people participated, with 416 valid responses collected. Questionnaire respondents came from 15 provinces and cities, mainly Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Hubei, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Sichuan. Among the valid responses, the majority came from heterosexual female journalists aged 18–34, working (or formerly working) at newspapers and magazines. 

According to the survey, 83.7% of female journalists experienced sexual harassment of varying degrees and forms; 42.4% encountered harassment more than once, and 18.2% experienced harassment more than five times. 

In terms of the perpetrators, 91% were male, of which 40.9% were the victim’s supervisors, 30% colleagues, 37.1% strangers, with classmates, interviewees, and others making up the rest. 

As for locations, harassment was more likely to occur in public workplaces (offices, meeting rooms, archives, restrooms), which accounted for 43.8% of incidents; private spaces (personal offices, private residences, hotel rooms) accounted for 37.7%; and public and entertainment venues (subways, buses, KTVs, restaurants) accounted for 42.2%. With the spread of the internet and smartphones, WeChat, Weibo, and other social apps have increasingly become channels for harassment, with 31.6% of cases involving phone calls, indecent jokes, pictures, or videos sent online. 

Among victims of sexual harassment, 57.3% chose to either silently endure or avoid the perpetrator. Only 3.2% of respondents reported the incident to supervisors or human resources, and just 0.6% called the police. In other words, out of 348 respondents, only 2 actually filed reports with the police. Among those who chose not to complain or report, 61.3% believed that such actions would be useless, while 48.9% feared that their private information might be leaked, which would damage their career and personal life. Nearly half (48.6%) of those who remained silent did not know how to resist. 

After experiencing harassment, 61.4% of female journalists felt damage to their self-esteem. Among the 176 who experienced harassment more than twice, 44 said that this seriously affected their interpersonal relationships; 22 said it seriously affected their careers (such as causing them to quit or give up a job transfer). Workplace sexual harassment also led to a certain degree of talent loss, while 29 reported long-term psychological depression, and 10 reported tendencies toward self-harm or suicide. 

However, in terms of satisfaction with how employers and police handled harassment, only 3.3% were very satisfied with their employers, and only 0.4% were satisfied with the police.

Female journalists showed a strong demand for knowledge and education regarding the prevention of workplace sexual harassment: 74.4% of respondents believed workplaces should offer training or lectures, and implement relevant regulations. However, only 3% reported that their workplaces had ever offered such training, courses, or lectures. 

To some extent, this survey reflects that workplace sexual harassment is a serious issue for Chinese female journalists, and media organisations lack preventive mechanisms. The author offers the following suggestions: 

1. As an institution of social empowerment in China, the media serves the functions of supervising and correcting misconduct, guiding the public, spreading information, and coordinating society. As such, the media industry should face up to the issue of sexual harassment within itself. Since the media is also a workplace environment, harassment in the media counts as workplace harassment, and media outlets should take a proactive stance in self-supervision.
2. The media industry should take the lead in establishing workplace anti-harassment mechanisms, including preventative training, post-incident investigations, punishing perpetrators, and providing psychological counselling for victims. Dedicated departments should be set up to deal with such incidents, anti-harassment clauses should be written into workplace regulations and distributed to staff, and employers should bear joint liability. Anti-harassment education should be integrated into staff orientation, lectures, business exchanges, and monthly/quarterly/annual meetings. 
3. Although men are the main perpetrators, they can also become victims. Therefore, anti-harassment training should not only aim to protect women. In addition to improving the abilities of women in preventing harassment, training should also aim to increase men’s sensitivity and awareness of sexual harassment. Gender equality should be stressed in relevant lectures and training. 
4. Workplace safety should be enhanced, including improvements to stairways, elevators, and other blind spots, ensuring that cameras function properly.
5. Workplace sexual harassment prevention mechanisms should be coordinated with public security departments, psychological counselling institutions, and related public-interest organisations. 

Published by: Guangzhou Gender Education Centre, Anti-Sexual Harassment
Consultant: Wei Tingting
Report written by: Huang Xueqin
Data analysis: Huang Xueqin
Case study compilation: Huang Xueqin
Translation and proofreading: Huang Xueqin, Tiffany Wu, Guan Qian
Layout: Sun Li
Design: Ou Xiao
Support: China Women’s Film Festival, FRIDA
First edition, March 2018

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