Associated Press Published:19 Jul, 2019

Long Read

#MeToo gains strength in Asia as entertainment industries deal with sexual assault and abuse

• From K-pop scandals to abuse in India, Taiwan and Japan, Asia is dealing with sexual harassment in entertainment
• After a slow start, the #MeToo movement has gained momentum on the continent, but it still has a way to go

Asia is having its own #MeToo moment, with its home-grown entertainment industries grappling with many of the issues that have upended entertainment careers in the United States and beyond.

Earlier this year, the K-pop scene was shaken when two male stars were accused of sexual misconduct in South Korea. Solo singer Jung Joon-young faced allegations he secretly filmed himself having sex with women and shared the footage on a mobile messenger app; he apologised to the victims. And Seungri, the youngest member of the quintet BigBang, was accused of trying to steer sex services to business investors. He denied the charges and has retired from the group.

Indian singer Farhan Akhtar started the Men Against Rape and Discrimination initiative.

Last year, in India, Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta came forward with details of a 2008 complaint she filed against actor Nana Patekar for alleged sexual harassment, which he denied. A flood of stories of sexual harassment and assault followed on social media from Indian actresses and writers.

Indian actor, singer and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, a United Nations “He For She” ambassador with his own “Men Against Rape and Discrimination” initiative, says there is unease in the industry.

“Fear runs down the spine of everyone, thinking that, ‘Oh my God, maybe I’ve done something in the past that might come back to bite me’,” he says.

He encourages women to come forward and speak out. “Nobody can do it for her. Nobody can out her story and put her in a position that maybe she doesn’t want to be in,” he said. “But when she does, then it’s important that people rally around her so that she feels she’s done the right thing.

“And through her, through that conversation, and through her words she will hopefully inspire, motivate many more people to come out. And that’s the way the system will be cleaned.”

Screenwriter Zhou Xiaoxuan did speak out. She became a central figure in China’s #MeToo movement after an essay she wrote privately, claiming she was sexually assaulted by a TV star, went public on the social media platform Sina Weibo last summer.

It's extremely difficult for women who have been assaulted by their friends, colleagues or partners to seek legal recourse.

- Zhou Xiaoxuan, screenwriter in China

A prominent television host, Zhu Jun, sued her for defamation and Zhou followed with her own suit, for infringing on her personal rights. Women’s rights advocates in China are following the case.

Zhou says the movement has only reached so far in China, affecting mostly a group of high-profile, well-connected men. “They were frightened by the #MeToo trend and they stopped. But most people in this society, they’ve never heard of #MeToo,” she said.

“I’ve actually been lucky because Zhu Jun is well-known,” Zhou said. “It’s extremely difficult for women who have been assaulted by their friends, colleagues or partners to seek legal recourse.”

Japanese journalist Shiori Ito accused a television newsman of raping her in 2015. 

Japanese TV journalist Shiori Ito said she experienced months of trolling and shaming after she revealed in May 2017 that she had been raped. That was before the #MeToo movement got under way in the United States.

“I’m very grateful to all the other women that have spoken up because I felt very lonely,” she said. She said she has felt a change in Japan and in her own family “who were really against me speaking up, and then they started saying, ‘You know what? Maybe she’s right’.”

An emotional television interview with South Korean prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun in January 2018, in which she said she had been assaulted eight years earlier, is credited with starting the #MeToo movement there. Seo has since won a court case for abuse of power against her alleged assaulter. She said that watching women reveal their stories in Hollywood helped give her the courage to speak publicly.

Supporters marched in the streets with candles and #WithYou banners.

“I told myself that, ‘Yes, this was not my fault and that I should not be ashamed at all’,” she said.

In Pakistan, dancer, theatre director and activist Sheema Kermani is campaigning against sexual abuse, trying to make the movement there more than a moment. “When actresses, big actresses, started calling out big names of actors for sexual harassment, I think it gave Pakistani women and women in media the courage to speak out,” she said.

An image from the Don’t Tell Me How To Dress campaign in Thailand, started by Cindy Sirinya Bishop.

In Thailand, model and TV personality Cindy Sirinya Bishop launched the “Don’t Tell Me How To Dress” campaign after receiving a wave of support for a “social media rant” – her response to an article advising women not to wear sexy clothes for the Thai New Year to avoid sexual assault.

“It all started when that clip that I posted went viral overnight with the support of many, many women all over Thailand, chiming in, commenting, sharing and saying ‘Yes, this is exactly what we feel’. Why are we always the ones that have to cover up, or why, when we are harassed or assaulted, is it somehow our fault?” she said.

Bishop also created an exhibition displaying clothing worn by sexual assault victims. “We have university student outfits to toddler’s clothing to sweatpants and T-shirts,” she said.

Why are we always the ones that have to cover up, or why, when we are harassed or assaulted, is it somehow our fault?

- Cindy Sirinya Bishop

She says her movement would have happened regardless of the stories arriving from America. But she adds: “In some way, the #MeToo movement has collectively empowered women without our knowing it, all over the world.”