Over the last few years, an increasing number of victims of sexual assault have come forward with horrific stories of abuse, encouraged by the #metoo movement.
Under the movement, which gives a voice to those previously silenced, popular celebrities, famous athletes, and large organisations have been accused of sexual misconduct, throwing their repute into question.
The latest accusation to capture public attention, which came as a shock to some has been levelled at a manager working Alibaba.
The Allegation
A female employee at the Chinese tech giant accused a manager of rape and a client of molesting her during a meeting.
The attack allegedly occurred in the city of Jinan, located in the capital of eastern Shandong province, on 27 July.
The manager accused of rape was an executive of Taoxianda – a fresh food delivery service under Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace business. He was also the employee’s direct supervisor.
In a social media post in which she shared details of the alleged rape, the employee said the manager pushed her to accompany him for a business dinner with clients on 27 July in Jinan.
She said she was forced to drink alcohol with them during dinner. She soon fell unconscious as a result, but remembers that the client molested her in the restaurant.
She then woke up the next day naked in a hotel room with no memory of the previous night.
She claimed that the manager had taken her back to the hotel, adding that she has surveillance footage showing that the manager had entered her room four times that night.
When she returned to her office, the woman said she reported the incident to Alibaba’s human resources department and senior management and requested that her boss be fired.
She said that while human resources initially agreed to the request, they took no further action.
But now, the company has.
Alibaba Fires Manager Accused of Raping Employee
Alibaba has since fired the manager accused of rape, saying the incident has exposed “problems” with the culture at the company.
In a letter sent out to all employees, CEO Daniel Zhang said that the manager admitted there were “intimate acts” while the woman was “inebriated”.
“He will be fired and never be rehired, ” Zhang said. “Whether he has committed rape or indecency that violates the law will be determined by law enforcement.”
Two other bosses, including a human resources chief, have resigned for mishandling the incident.
In the response to the woman’s allegations, Zhang said: “In the entire incident handling process, the HR function did not pay enough attention and care to our people.”
“They were rational but lacked empathy and care. At the same time, an emergency response system was absent, and a severe misjudgement was made.”
The company said it’s “staunchly opposed to forced drinking culture” and vowed to take the necessary steps to enhance protection for female employees at their firm.
As for the alleged rape victim, Zhang said the company would “do everything it can” to take care of her.
The police are investigating the incident and said they will publish details of any developments.
Difficult to Report Sexual Misconduct
While the #metoo movement has taken off in many parts of the world, China seems to have been somewhat immune to its effects.
Some attribute this to a culture which reinforces sexist norms; some firms have reportedly engaged in hazing rituals where women would be forced to drink or even simulate sex acts.
There’s also a lack of recourse for victims to report such incidents.
Many netizens who responded to the employee’s viral social media post pointed out that Alibaba only reacted after the allegations went public, suggesting that there’s a problem with how reports of sexual assault are addressed.
To rectify these issues and prevent them from happening again, Alibaba said it would conduct a training program for all workers on employee rights protection, including anti-sexual harassment.
It will also set up a reporting channel and accelerate the formation of a code of action to address such issues.
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