After reopening at the end of May, China’s National People’s Congress established a new legal code that explicitly defines sexual harassment as a legal offense.
According to Reuters, Article 1,010 of the new legislation states that a person can be held accountable “for speech, words, images or bodily actions that have been used to carry out sexual harassment against a person’s wishes.”
The decision, which follows legislation from December 2018 in which the Chinese Supreme Court added sexual harassment to a list of “causes of action,” marks the first time China has officially declared sexual harassment a legal offense.
While the decision is a landmark for China’s #MeToo movement, which has faced extreme challenges and repercussions since first being ignited in 2018, some have noted that the nation, like many others, still has a long way to go in the fight against sexual violence.
“The civil code is a big step, but much more will need to be fleshed out,” Darius Longarino, a senior fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School, told Reuters. “After all, U.S. sexual-harassment law is still developing after decades and grappling with its failures, as laid bare by #MeToo.”
Reuters also noted that the new legislation lacks definitive guidelines for schools and businesses, which are held responsible for sexual misconduct.
While Reuters called the move a “largely symbolic step,” lawyers and activists told the outlet it could pave the way for more meaningful change and legislation supporting sexual-harassment survivors in the future.
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