Three months after the "Sexual Harassment in Wuhan University Library" report incident, the mother of the boy involved, Xiao Moumou (hereinafter referred to as "Xiao's mother"), publicly spoke out for the first time: "It's not 'masturbation', let alone 'sexual harassment'! I My child has suffered from atopic dermatitis since he was a child. When the weather was hot, the eczema recurred on his legs, and he would scratch it through his clothes. There are medical records from the hospital over the years."
Xiao's mother said that currently, they have proposed disciplinary action against the school. The complaint requested to be withdrawn. The "reporting post" on the online platform caused Xiao Moumou to suffer online violence and mental trauma. A lawyer has been entrusted to file a civil lawsuit against the relevant parties for infringement, and the case has been filed in the court.
The "report post" that Xiao's mother mentioned was the article "About the Sexual Harassment I Was Received in the Wuhan University Library" posted by the WeChat public account "Jingrong Yinbing" on the afternoon of October 11, 2023. An online post broke the news in the self-reported tone of a Wuhan University girl, saying that she was "sexually harassed" by a boy from another college while studying in the school library in July of that year, and that she subsequently communicated with the school to no avail in the past three months. Although the boy's name and video footage were not disclosed in the online post, the boy's department, counselor's name and other information were disclosed. It also mentioned that the boy involved was a "local" and "not short of money" and other family information. After the
online post was released, Wuhan University was thrust into the forefront of public opinion. Within 48 hours after the article was published, Wuhan University issued a notice: After investigation and verification, 2022 undergraduate Xiao Moumou was given a demerit in accordance with relevant regulations.
Later, the boy involved, Xiao Moumou, was violently attacked online. "After the incident, the child's mental state was very bad. We have been busy with the child's condition and chose the judicial process. On the one hand, we do not want to get involved in an online war of words, and we do not want to add more public pressure to the school." Recently, the incident involved The mother of the boy Xiao Moumou told reporters in Nandu that due to the endless online violence and the ups and downs of the child's condition, they finally decided to speak out publicly.
The man responded to "sexual harassment" for the first time
said that he had been suffering from dermatitis for a long time and was scratching it at the time
On October 11, 2023, the WeChat public account "Jingrong Yinbing" published an article "About the incident of sexual harassment I received in the Wuhan University Library" Detonate public opinion. The
online post stated in the self-narrative tone of a Wuhan University girl: Three months ago during self-study in the Wuhan University library, “classmate x” who was sitting across from me was masturbating to me. After video evidence collection, 5 videos were captured, and in each video, "Classmate x was seen rubbing his genitals through his pants. This behavior was continuous and very obvious." The online post stated that after a confrontation with classmate x, classmate x admitted what happened and wrote a letter of apology as requested.
's online post also detailed three months of communication with teachers from the school and related colleges, saying, "The two parties are at an impasse, so I chose to expose it in the hope that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible."
Two days after the article was published (October 13), Wuhan University issued a handling notice: After investigation and verification of online reports involving students of our school, and in accordance with relevant regulations, the school decided to give a demerit to Xiao Moumou, an undergraduate student in the class of 2022. Wuhan University has always had zero tolerance for violations of regulations and disciplines, and will never tolerate them once verified.
Xiao Moumou and his parents do not agree with the school’s handling results. Regarding the "sexual harassment" behavior mentioned in the online post, Xiao's mother explained: Xiao Moumou has suffered from atopic dermatitis since childhood. When the weather was hot, the eczema on her legs recurred. At that time, she was scratching through her clothes.
Xiao’s mother provided multiple records of medical visits and medical consultations. According to the live video obtained by him, Xiao Moumou, who was wearing black pants, was scratching his thigh crotch under the desk through his clothes and pants. The medical cases of Xiao Moumou from 2021 to 2023 provided by Xiao Moumou's mother showed that Xiao Moumou had "scattered light red spots and papules on the roots of both sides of the femur", and also had "eye rashes". The consultation time and medical consultation time in many medical records are in the second half of 2023, which overlaps with the period of the library crisis. At noon on the day of the incident (July 11), Xiao’s mother was still asking friends to buy related rash medicines.
A dermatologist from Wuhan Union Medical College Hospital who had treated Xiao Moumou confirmed to Nandu reporters that he had seen Xiao Moumou several times in the second half of 2023, and the last medical record was in December 2023. “He suffered from special symptoms. Atopic dermatitis manifests as eczema. He has had atopic dermatitis for more than one or two years and has seasonal acute attacks."The medical record also showed: "The rash has been itchy and uncomfortable for 7 years, and it is more obvious in summer." Another nurse from Wuhan No. 1 Hospital who helped him purchase medicine through multiple online consultations also confirmed to Nandu reporters that Xiao Moumou has suffered from special symptoms for many years. Atopic dermatitis, “He has had this skin disease for a long time. He has been allergic since he was a child, and eczema recurs here and there on his body from time to time, and it is not easy to remove the roots. "
As for Xiao Moumou's handwritten apology letter, Xiao Moumou and Xiao's mother both said in the interview that "it was out of the idea of calming down the trouble." "The child was confused the whole time, and he didn't even know that she said 'shoot it' 'What was taken. In order to avoid making a big fuss in the library, the child wrote an apology letter. "Xiao's mother said, "We have taught our children since childhood to try not to have direct conflicts with others, and it is best to make peace with others when something happens. At that time, the child thought very simply: just apologize according to the other person's request and everything will be fine. "
" said in the 'report post' that the child left a false name in the apology letter. In fact, the child wrote his real name and student number at the beginning. " Xiao's mother pointed out.
Xiao's attorney further argued that during the incident when Xiao was accused of "sexual harassment", there was no physical or verbal contact between the two parties, and Xiao's "scratching behavior" was due to pathology. The reason for the tickling was not specifically targeted at people outside the case. In the view of the attorney, this tickling behavior did not subjectively go against the will of others, objectively it did not interfere with other people’s normal study and life, and it did not cause any harm to others. The impact is completely inconsistent with the elements of "sexual harassment."
The school issued a demerit for "indecent behavior"
Xiao's mother said she has been complaining to the school
It is worth mentioning that in the 78-word notice released by Wuhan University, only It was mentioned that Xiao Moumou had been punished with demerits and had committed violations of regulations and disciplines, but the details of the incident or the determination of facts were not disclosed.
In this regard, Xiao’s mother told Nandu reporters: After the incident, she and Xiao Moumou had reported suffering from atopy. She orally told the college teacher about the dermatitis, but the school did not inform her in advance before issuing a public notice. Four days after the notice was released, on October 17, she received a red-headed document stating that the school had punished the child. This red-headed document did not mention Xiao Moumou’s condition. The behavior was described as sexual harassment, and was only described as "indecent behavior."
The disciplinary decision stated that Xiao Moumou "committed indecent behavior in the corridor of the north entrance of the library, which damaged the image of college students and caused adverse effects." According to the "Wuhan University Student Discipline According to Paragraph 5 of Article 22 of the Disciplinary Measures (Revised), it was decided to impose a demerit penalty.
Xiao’s mother told Nandu that they had filed an appeal against the school’s disciplinary decision on October 25, requesting the school to withdraw the disciplinary decision, and attached Medical records and medical information were obtained.
Xiao’s mother said that on November 2 and December 7, 2023, she and her family communicated with the school twice and appealed the disciplinary decision. According to the conversation she recorded, relevant school staff It has been said many times that "the school judged based on the actual situation, and it was not sexual harassment, and sexual harassment was ruled out", and also said that "the school took emergency measures under such circumstances."
Another relevant party who handled the matter, Wuhan City Luo The Jiashan Police Station also did not give a clear answer on "sexual harassment." Xiao's mother said that on the day the online post was published, she and her family went to Wuhan Luojiashan Police Station to call the police. College leaders, counselors and school security department staff also Arrive at the police station. “Both the child and the counselor took notes that night. "Afterwards, she and her family went to the police station many times to submit report materials and cooperated with police inquiries. "We chose to report the case mainly because we hope that the police can investigate and determine the 'sexual harassment' behavior mentioned in the report post; if it does not exist, we hope that it does not exist. The reporter can be held accountable according to law for secretly photographing other people's privacy and defamation. It has been more than three months since "
" reported the crime, but the police station has not given a specific reply and has always said that it is under investigation. "Xiao's mother said that during the mediation period of the department, they also conveyed the idea of interviewing and communicating with the girl involved through the department, but the girl refused. An online post published by the
WeChat public account "Jingrong Yinbing" confirmed this According to the details, the girl in the online post ultimately refused to meet him on the grounds of protecting personal identity information.
In response to the disciplinary decisions and appeals mentioned by Xiao’s mother, Nandu reporters repeatedly contacted the Security Department of Wuhan University and the office of the college where the girl involved was located, but did not receive an effective reply. The staff on duty from the Security Department and the College Office of Wuhan University said that the school has gone on winter vacation and personnel are on duty. They are not aware of the matter and will refer to the official announcement from the school. The counselor surnamed Liu, who was initially contacted by
and handled the matter, also told Nandu reporters that “it is inconvenient to say anything more.”
A reporter from Nandu repeatedly contacted the girl involved in the incident at Wuhan University. She claimed that she borrowed a friend's public account to publish the article "About the Sexual Harassment I Got in the Wuhan University Library" and that she had not known that Xiao Moumou had been suffering from stress dermatitis for a long time. She believes that this matter constitutes sexual harassment at least in the sense of civil law, and hopes that the school can establish a system for preventing and controlling sexual harassment in colleges and universities. Xiao also has the right to file a lawsuit on this matter. The girl also said that she is currently under a lot of pressure to graduate from school and it is inconvenient to speak out on this matter. She subsequently declined an interview.
The day after Wuhan University issued the notice, the "Jingrong Yinbing" public account also updated an online post to thank the school for its handling of the incident, and said that "at this point, I can reconcile with myself." If there are no accidents, there will be no further response.
After falling into the whirlpool of online violence
Xiao Moumou was diagnosed with "post-traumatic stress disorder"
After the incident, "Sexual Harassment in Wuhan University Library" was on the hot search, and the boy involved, Xiao Moumou, fell into the whirlpool of online violence.
Based on the information and clues disclosed in online posts and public notifications from the school, many netizens who claimed to be high school classmates of the boys involved or who claimed to know the boys soon disclosed private information such as Xiao’s real name, photos, family situation, etc. A large number of accusations and abuses against Xiao Moumou also appeared on the Internet.
Some netizens posted that Xiao Moumou had "poor grades, no knowledge, no skills, and relied on shady secrets to get him to Wuhan University." In this regard, the relevant recommendation information provided by Xiao's mother showed that Xiao ranked 22nd in the grade and first in the class in the recommendation ranking of high school. He was also admitted to Nankai University.
Some netizens posted information saying that Xiao Moumou’s father was the local deputy district chief. Afterwards, the leader of the district involved refuted the rumor with his real name and reported the case.
"Since then, the child has been in a depressed mood. Some of his former friends also had opinions about him, saying whatever they wanted, and some people kicked him out of the group chat. He rested at home for a while, and then forced himself to go back Classes and exams. I am still not in a good state now, and the dosage of medicine was increased in the past two days." Mentioning her son's current situation, Xiao's mother choked up several times: "During that time, he often suddenly felt angry and resentful, and he had thoughts The urge to go to the other party to argue; I had to take medicine to fall asleep at night, and I always dreamed about what happened that day in the library and I was awakened; I didn’t talk to anyone all day long, and even wanted to jump off the building, but luckily we stopped me..."
The medical records presented by Xiao's mother showed that on October 17, 2023, Xiao was diagnosed with "acute stress reaction" at the Wuhan Mental Health Center and was required to be hospitalized for treatment.
On December 13, the hospital’s diagnosis showed that “his condition has further deteriorated and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, accompanied by anxiety, depression, hypochondria, stress and other emotional disorders, and his tendency to commit suicide or self-mutilation is 80%.” Xiao's mother said that the doctor had warned that Xiao's mood disorder had long-term complications and risk of recurrence.
In order to ensure Xiao's personal safety, Xiao's mother said that for a period of time, family members could only change shifts to accompany her closely, and someone had to be on duty at night.
"This child has a cheerful personality and gets along well with other students. The program he is studying in is a double degree program with a heavy workload, but he is very strong and hard-working. He comes to me to answer questions for several hours every week." One of Xiao's course instructors was interviewed by a Nandu reporter. After the incident, it was obvious that Xiao was under great mental stress. "I heard that he sought medical treatment, and he took a few weeks off before returning to class."
Nandu reporter learned from Xiao’s attorney that Xiao and his family had repeatedly complained to online platforms about online posts posted by the “Jingrong Yinbing” account and false information posted by related online accounts, but to no avail.In view of the impact and mental damage caused by this incident, Xiao Moumou has currently filed a reputation infringement lawsuit against the online platform that published the online post, requiring the online platform to delete the post's original account and related reposting accounts, and publicly apologize. In order to eliminate the impact; at the same time, the online platform is required to provide the real-name registration information of the public account to cooperate in identifying the identity information of the relevant reputation infringement propagator, and then add the infringer as a co-defendant through court investigation. In addition, evidence has been preserved for accounts that spread false information such as "recruitment scandals" and "paper plagiarism" on the Internet, and the case filing process is now being carried out to safeguard rights.
The dilemma behind the hot search incident:
The blurred boundaries of sexual harassment and the difficulty of safeguarding rights after encountering online violence
After the "Sexual Harassment in Wuhan University Library" incident was on the hot search list, many legal experts and scholars also expressed their concern and thoughts about the incident.
On the one hand, regarding "sexual harassment", it is difficult to complain and defend rights and prove one's innocence. Many scholars told Nandu reporters that the identification of "sexual harassment" in judicial practice not only faces difficulties in obtaining evidence, but also faces the reality that it is difficult to specifically define whether it is "sexual harassment." As to whether a certain behavior constitutes "sexual harassment," perpetrators and rights advocates often have different opinions and explanations.
According to Article 1010 of the Civil Code: "Whoever sexually harasses others through words, words, images, physical behaviors, etc. against their will, the victim has the right to request the perpetrator to bear civil liability in accordance with the law. Agencies, enterprises, schools Such units should take reasonable measures to prevent, accept complaints, investigate and deal with, and prevent and stop the use of authority, affiliation, etc. to commit sexual harassment."
"Whether it can be recognized as 'sexual harassment' mainly depends on the following points: first, whether it is against the will of others; secondly, whether it is a nuisance to others through words, texts, images, physical behaviors, etc.; finally, whether it is a nuisance to others This kind of nuisance is sexual-related and uncomfortable." Chen Bi, a professor at the School of Criminal Justice of China University of Political Science and Law, told Nandu reporter.
Zhang Binbin, a lawyer at Shanghai Huiye Law Firm, told Nandu reporters that the determination of tort liability generally needs to consider several elements: the illegality of the behavior, whether there is damage, the causal relationship between the behavior and the consequences of the damage, The perpetrator is subjectively at fault. Zhang Binbin cited a sexual harassment case that occurred in Chongqing last year. In this case, the defendant sent obscene animations and indecent text to the plaintiff in a WeChat chat. The plaintiff called the police and ultimately won the lawsuit. The court emphasized three points in its judgment in this case: 1. The defendant’s behavior had a clear sexual orientation; 2. The behavior showed a “sexually provocative” nature and intention; 3. The behavior was obviously against the plaintiff’s wishes.
On the other hand, online posts sparked the Internet's attention to the "Sexual Harassment in Wuhan University Library" incident, and online violence ensued. As a person involved in the incident, Xiao Moumou fell into a dilemma in defending his rights.
"As things have developed so far, we don't know who is the person who posted the report online?" In view of this, Xiao Moumou and Xiao's mother chose to entrust a lawyer to sue the relevant online platform on the grounds of "defamation" and "infringement of reputation rights" Ask the platform to delete the post and wait for the court to file the case to find out "who the other party is" through court investigation and evidence collection.
This is also a common dilemma in cyber violence cases. Previously, Judge Wang Hongxia of the Third Comprehensive Trial Tribunal of the Beijing Internet Court once introduced to Nandu reporters on the management of cyber violence that in the handling of cyber violence cases, in order to inquire about the actual users of online accounts suspected of infringement, the parties often need to apply to the court for investigation and evidence collection. , to further identify the true registration information of relevant entities.
"In this type of case, it takes a long time to identify the infringing subject, which affects the victim's rights protection process and slows down the litigation process. In practice, there are also cases where suspected infringing online accounts are registered using out-of-region mobile phone numbers, virtual numbers, etc. . In some cases, the real-name information of the allegedly infringing online account may point to multiple actual users, and the victim often has no way to provide further evidence as to who is the real perpetrator, making it impossible to identify the actual infringer." Wang Hongxia said.
Regarding the practice of posting reports and exposure on the Internet in order to “protect” one’s own rights without confirming the basic facts, Chen Bi said bluntly, “I personally suggest that online reports, especially those that are self-beneficial, should be done with caution. "
" Although reporting is a legal right of citizens, reporting can relieve individuals' own rights and supervise public affairs. However, we must also realize that onlookers who quickly gather through online reporting have not yet understood the truth of the incident. On the premise of necessary research, the parties are publicly executed on the Internet, and the result may be to create more misconduct and injustice." Chen Bi said frankly. She also emphasized that when reporting online, special attention must be paid to not infringing on others' personal dignity, personal privacy, and personal information. In the name of reporting, one must not actually retaliate, insult, slander, or even frame others. "Public opinion trials have a backlash effect. Today, we use public opinion to Even if we win, we may be swallowed up by public opinion tomorrow.”
Regarding the prevention and control of sexual harassment in colleges and universities, Chen Bi suggested that in the governance of colleges and universities, more reference should be made to the regulations on sexual harassment management in the workplace. “In general, the processing speed must be fast, the evidence must be fixed, and the procedural rights of both parties must be fully protected. This will have It is conducive to obtaining a result closer to the truth and fairness and justice. In addition, there is a better way for schools to prevent it, which is to conduct relevant lectures, forums, and discussions to turn this sensitive topic into a public topic, deepen the dialogue between men and women, and also Eliminate misunderstandings and barriers."
In Chen Bi's view, the determination of sexual harassment in the "Sexual Harassment in Wuhan University Library" incident and the protection of rights after online violence still need to be investigated and finalized by relevant parties.
Writing: Nandu reporter Lu Hong
Video: Nandu reporter Wang Zili Intern Chen Yifan
Drawing: Gan Dan
Produced by: Nandu Digital Economic Governance Research Center
