Violence against women in China: outrage over video of furious attack by teen boy on secondary schoolgirl classmate after a board game dispute
- Attack came after the boy lost out to the girl in a board game of Gobang during break time
- School chiefs claim boy suffered from epilepsy, but social media posters are sceptical
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The filmed beating of a female secondary school student in northwest China by a male schoolmate has provoked public outrage.
After they exchanged a few words, the girl responded by shouting and throwing papers at him. At this point the boy started to punch her face and head. He then kicked her in the stomach and she stumbled, hit her head against a wall and fell to the ground, according to the Chinese video news-sharing platform Miaowen Video.
Shocked onlooking schoolmates came to help the girl and tried to stop the attack.
According to news outlet Knews, the school explained that the offender attacked on impulse because he lost a game of Gobang – a Japanese board game – against the girl while playing during break time.
“The boy suffered from epilepsy, so he behaved different from others. We conjectured that he lost his temper when the symptoms hit,” a teacher told Knews.
The school said the victim was safe and sound and both parents adopted a conciliatory attitude.
However, the video has sparked widespread criticism. One Weibo user said: “The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures, not causing one to attack others.”
Another, who claimed she is a mother, commented: “As a mother of a child, I could not forgive the violence by such an offender.”
“Why did the school defend the boy who violently beat the girl? I don’t understand,” wrote another.
Another Weibo poster said: “Please do not always say it’s the girls’ fault and ask them to protect themselves, but perhaps men should learn how to be men?”
Last month, The Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and investigation, announced that minors – those aged between 12 and 14 years old – committing severe acts of violence, should be sent to a special school set up by the country. A total of 2,159 minors have been sent to the school.
Government data showed that there were 60,553 juveniles suspected of committing criminal acts last year, a 5.69 per cent year-on-year rise from 2020. Among the suspects, 27,851 were accused of sexual harassment.
However, the number of campus violence cases in 2021 was nearly 75 per cent down compared to that of 2018, according to Shangyou News.
The Criminal Law of China also states that young people aged above 14 years old must take criminal responsibility for their acts.
