Chinese women snap selfies in support of survivor in Stanford sexual assault case

[yuiyoshida]

Last edited Fri Jun 10, 2016, 02:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Chinese women are leading a viral campaign of support for the victim in the controversial Stanford sexual assault case.

Last week, the defendant in the case, a former Stanford swimmer named Brock Turner, was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault. While prosecutors recommended that Turner be given a six-year prison sentence, Judge Aaron Persky instead sentenced him to six months in prison, worrying that a harsher sentence would have "a severe impact on him."



The controversial ruling has ignited outrage on campus and across the US. But it has also reached all the way over to the Middle Kingdom, where a group of Chinese feminists and activists have launched a campaign on Facebook, Weibo and Twitter, calling for women to share "selfies with solidarity for the Stanford survivor."

Rape is a form of gender violence that is everywhere in the world. Sexist and racist justice systems have facilitated this by ignoring, dismissing and devaluing survivors' experiences. Nobody earns the right to rape. No one should be freed of their crimes, just because they are young, talented or have a promising future (read: privileged). China has a similar situation. Instead of focusing on the offenders, the law, the courts and our sexist society always blame the victims! It stinks. Feminist activism is a transnational movement! We are all connected. We can't be free if our sisters on another part of the planet are still suffering. As Chinese feminist/queer activists, we can't remain silent in this Stanford case. We have learnt well from our past (like ‪#?FreeTheFive‬ ) that feminists and queers can't win any justice alone. We know our solidarity pictures are small efforts. But our message is simple: The Stanford survivor and all the survivors who face injustice, you are not by yourself. We are in this fight together!

We, Chinese feminist/queer activists, call for seflies with solidarity for the Stanford survivor. Come, Join us! Post your selfies, @FreeChineseFeminists (on Facebook) or @女权行动派吃不完 (on Weibo)

http://shanghaiist.com/2016/06/10/chinese_women_support_standford_survivor.php

[Quantess]

1. I like how much notoriety this case is getting. It's international now.

I also like that his photo and name are plastered all over social media, and people (men, too) are speaking up about it. There are so many levels of wrong in this case.

[Ptah]

2. Kick

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. kick

[Maru Kitteh]

4. That is extremely touching, thank you for posting!

[smirkymonkey]

5. This is great!

I love these women!