Zhou Xiaoxuan loses sexual harassment case against Zhu Jun

On September 14, the Haidian District People’s Court ruled that the evidence Zhou Xiaoxuan submitted was not enough to prove Zhujun, one of the most famous host of CCTV, had sexually harassed her, and dismissed the lawsuit in the first instance.

“I don’t think I can replicate the last three years of my life. I can’t do that for another three years. I was 21 when this happened, but I’m 28 now… But I feel really tired.”
In front of reporters and supporters outside the courtroom On Tuesday night, Ms. Zhou choked up as she said the court ‘at least has to guarantee full discussion’ if it wants to come up with a convincing conclusion. ‘The case doesn’t touch on the core facts.’
“We didn’t have a full discussion in this session… Even with this verdict, I still have to say that I am a victim of sexual harassment.”
Mr Zhu did not respond publicly to the verdict, while Ms Zhou said she would appeal.
In a written statement, Ms. Zhou said the judge did not allow access to the surveillance video, police records of her parents, expert psychological witnesses, or any final statements by the plaintiff against the decision. As for the DNA test results, the core of Mr. Zhu’s claim, the plaintiff asked for the dress to be re-examined, but the police said it had not been retrieved and the dress’s whereabouts were unknown.
In 2018, She revealed that Zhu had molested her in her dressing room during her internship at CCTV in 2014. In December 2020, Zhu denied on weibo that he had ever made physical contact with Zhou.

Peng Xiaohui, a professor of human sexuality at Central China Normal University, said, “[The case of Zhou Zi v. Zhu Jun] has raised the whole society’s vigilance against sexual contact in the ownership relationship. It is a kind of awareness and reminder to protect the weak, and a powerful warning to those who are ready to move.”

Peng xiaohui said that he knew of a master’s student who was countersued for false accusation due to lack of effective evidence in the case of rape. “Sexual harassment happens between two people in private, and without a third party present, it is difficult to obtain evidence. The first thing you need to do is be smart enough to preserve evidence, like communications, emails, phone recordings. I’m sure the judge would rather believe Zhou, but the law is about evidence.”

In 2018, China’s Supreme Court listed “sexual harassment” as a separate case, after previously only being prosecuted in cases such as disputes over body rights, reputation rights and general personality rights. The civil Code, which took effect in 2021, clearly defines the criteria for identifying “sexual harassment”.
Inspired by the #MeToo movement across the world, many victims of sexual assault in China have spoken out, but the process of defending their rights has been difficult.