China Overseas Chinese Network, May 26th, question: Chinese women learn to drive by coach "salty pig hands"?
Don't hold back!
Recently, many Chinese American women broke the news that they were verbally molested or even physically harassed by the examiner during the DMV (United States Vehicle Administration) driver's license test.
Ms. Yu from Southern California said that when she took the driver's license test, the examiner was an elderly man.
Although I had heard of similar incidents before, and I seriously reminded the examiner not to touch her hands after getting on the bus, she was still "touched" by the examiner.
"If you don't touch him, he will put his hand on your lap. It is estimated that many people will really endure it just to pass the exam."
Ms. Zhang had a similar experience.
She said that when she first came to the United States, she went to the local DMV to test her driver's license. It was summer and her clothes were cooler.
Before the road test was over, the middle-aged male examiner touched her hand and told her, "You passed."
Ms. Zhang is a new immigrant, and she just wants to get a driver's license as soon as possible. With the driver's license, many follow-up documents can be processed.
Afterwards, she told her husband what happened to her. Unfortunately, neither of the husband and wife knew English and did not know how to file a complaint.
"Most of the people who take the driver's license test are new immigrants. The examiner also decided that our English is not good and will not complain. We can only admit that we are unlucky."
Similar things don't just happen in driver's license tests.
Similar harassment incidents can often be encountered at work, on campus, or even on the street.
Data map: Japan has launched a "female-only car" to prevent sexual harassment.
A 2018 survey found that nearly 18 percent of government employees in Los Angeles had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, and more than half said they had experienced sexual harassment without reporting it to anyone.
In early March of this year, the Asian Pacific American Women's Forum released a survey report entitled "The Safety of Asian Pacific American Women".
The report surveyed more than 2,400 Asian-Pacific women and found that Asian-Pacific women have been the target of racist hate and violence over the past year, with nearly 40% of the women surveyed saying they had experienced sexual harassment in the past year , more than half of respondents said they "feel less safe" now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, what kind of behavior qualifies as "sexual harassment"?
General Recommendation No. 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women defines sexual harassment as: “An unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, such as physical contact and proximity, Pornographic and sexually related demands manifested by behavior.”
The ILO Committee of Experts adopted a broader definition of sexual harassment, which included sexual comments, jokes, innuendos, and sexual expressions or physical contact (such as touching, fondling, pinching, or hurting) are included in the scope of sexual harassment.
Although common social etiquette such as touching, cuddling, and kissing do not violate the law per se, it is sexual harassment when the perpetrator uses the body to touch the victim's sexual characteristics, hindering the victim's freedom of behavior and causing the victim to resist.
It's also important to note that people of any gender can be victims of sexual harassment.
In this regard, some Chinese lawyers said that Chinese should improve their awareness of self-protection.
If there is a similar encounter, you should immediately express your dissatisfaction or resistance, or you can complain to the relevant person or department on the spot.
Take the DMV as an example, if you feel harassment from the examiner, whether it is verbal harassment or physical inappropriate contact, you must speak up, clearly show your resistance, stop immediately and go to the DMV on the spot if you are safe. complaint.
In short, whenever you encounter a similar situation, you must stand up and speak up, and don't suffer silently!
(Manuscript source: China Overseas Chinese Network WeChat public account; ID: qiaowangzhongguo; Source: Comprehensive Los Angeles Chinese Information Network, American "Overseas Chinese News", China Overseas Chinese Network, China News Network, etc.; Author: Li Mingyang)