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A 2014 survey made by the All China Women’s Federation found that 57 percent of 1,200 female students at 15 universities in the country have gone through sexual harassment. Some of the victims experienced it repeatedly.
One example is the taking of photos of female students in the toilet which led to the apprehension of a shy male student who denied the accusation. However, his mobile phone yielded evidence, resulting in the student being expelled.
Another documentation by a third year undergraduate student recorded 60 cases over the last 10 year at Beijing Normal University. Among the incidents were peeping Toms harassing female students and an assistant dean who allegedly tried to drug and touch the students intimately, reported Financial Times.
But the university allowed the male student to take the entrance exam again and the incident to be excluded from his record. The leniency given the male student is part of the psychological help which experts believe should be extended to offenders as a long-term solution to eradicate sexual harassment incidents in campuses, reported Global Times.
Wu Boxin, an expert on criminal behavior, pointed out that many offenders do not have sufficient sexual education and were raised in relatively closed society. The result is these harassers develop abnormal sexual urges. He said most of the harassers feel social pressure, especially those who are unemployed that harassing others sexually is their way of expressing their negative feelings.
Peng Xiaohui, Central China Normal University, explained that voyeurs are usually people who lack confidence and are not accepted by society. Students who have engaged in sexual harassment should receive counseling, Peng advocated. He added because many Chinese schools view sex education as dispensable, many Chinese students are likely to be influenced instead by pornography.
