The Japanese Call It Chikan

According to the organiser of a group called Gutsy Women, close to 67% of Hong Kong women have been victims of unwanted sexual advances, in the form of groping or rubbing, in the MTR and on buses.

That number seems high; I've never once witnessed it or heard anyone complain of it. That's not to say it doesn't happen, nor that such behaviour is acceptable.

Should the numbers be accurate, the problem is not so much one of sexual assault as it is of non-resistance. Few victims challenged their assaulters:

"Nearly half of them would only stare at the assaulters with hostility. Another 30 per cent would walk away or leave the vehicle ..."

Whatever happened to the good old slap-in-the-face?

Moreover, assistance from others was weak:

"About 28 per cent of victims said passengers pretended nothing had happened. Another 34 per cent of victims said witnesses would only stare at them," she said.

That's more in line with Hong Kong's conservative image than are overt sexual advances.

I've (ahem) touched on this topic before, but many Hong Kong women have an underlying reluctance to fight back against their attackers. When assaults occur, women (and witnesses) ought to take offenders to task.

If this behaviour is allowed to persist, Hong Kong would become like Tokyo, where frottage is practically a national sport.

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