- Title: Hong Kong protesters hold '#MeToo' rally against alleged police sexual violence
- Date: 28th August 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 28, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS IN HONG KONG'S CHATER GARDENS SHINING LIGHTS WITH THEIR MOBILE PHONES AND CLAPPING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING UP SIGNS, ONE READING (English) "DON'T TELL ME NOT TO PROTEST, TELL THEM NOT TO VIOLATE" (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, EMMA KWOK, SAYING: "There are times when the police, when they arrest protesters, will go and grab or touch certain body parts, perhaps as a form of intimidation, and if there are males (protesters), they will grab their below parts." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED ON STREET, CHANTING SLOGANS (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, LOVE YIP, SAYING: "I think it's so hard to accept, this time, police brutality is so terrible this time. But at the end of the day, we have to accept this and everyone needs to be aware of it. There are people who, when realising that there are so many sexual assault victims, and they will just- Their heart do not know how to handle it. It is a cultural trauma that we need to come out to address, even though the circumstances might differ, our humanity is the same, and no person deserves to go through this pain. So we step out." VARIOUS OF STUDENTS LOVE YIP (LEFT) AND TOMMY CHAN (RIGHT) HOLDING UP PLACARD READING (English): "NO ONE DESERVES TO BE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, NOT EVEN THE PEOPLE YOU HATE" (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) 20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, TOMMY CHAN, SAYING: "I think that sexual violence, these issues, are also forever a subject at the back of all of these social movements, and so I think I really need to step up and come out." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, LOVE YIP, SAYING: "I have also been assaulted. I am myself also a survivor of sexual violence. First, in Hong Kong, we always have this problem relating to sexual violence. And secondly, I resolutely believe that no matter what a person's way of thinking is, their gender, what shirt they wear, what they come out to say, their personality, whether you like them or not, you should not encroach on their body." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED IN STREET VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SEATED, SHINNING LIGHTS WITH THEIR MOBILE PHONES
- Embargoed: 11th September 2019 17:54
- Keywords: Hong Kong protest sexual abuse me too metoo women's right sexual assault Hong Kong police
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001AU4RP6V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong's Chater Garden on Wednesday (August 28) to protest against alleged sexual violence committed by police officers during and after detentions of pro-democracy protesters.
Echoing global protest movements denouncing violence against women, the event was billed by organisers as a "#MeToo" rally with some participants writing "#ProtestToo" on their arms with red lipstick.
Protest organisers played audio clips with the testimonials of protesters who alleged they had been mistreated by police officers.
Many protesters who joined chanted slogans calling for democratic reforms in the Chinese-ruled territory.
The protest came on the back of widespread allegations of police use of excessive force during recent protests. The territory has been rocked by large and sometimes violent street protests over the past months starting with calls to withdraw a controversial extradition bill.
The protests have since expanded to include calls for democratic reforms and government accountability, plunging the former British colony into its biggest political crisis since it was handed back to China in 1997.
(Production: Joyce Zhou, Aleksander Solum, Hyun Young Yi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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