Taipei (TIP): Human resources and upper management wouldn’t deal with her accusation of sexual assault, a former employee of Alibaba said. So she went into the busy cafeteria at the Chinese e-commerce giant’s headquarters and screamed out her plight.

Now she’s facing online harassment, accusations of lying from the wives of the two men she accused and a defamation lawsuit from an Alibaba vice president who was forced to resign. And, she revealed recently, the company fired her.

Women in China often face such troubles if they choose to speak publicly about sexual assault. In multiple high-profile cases, particularly during China’s brief #MeToo movement in 2018, victims were sued by the men who allegedly harassed them. Some have been targeted with online harassment and censored from speaking about their cases.

In the most high-profile case, former Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai disappeared from public view after accusing former high-level official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Her accusation was quickly scrubbed from the internet and discussion of it remains heavily censored. In such a climate, women’s rights activists fear that fewer victims will be willing to speak up.

“This is helping the wrongdoer, and makes the workplace environment even worse, and it’s an attack on the next woman who wants to stand out,” said #MeToo activist Zhou Xiaoxuan.

The former Alibaba employee told the Dahe Daily, a provincial Chinese newspaper, that she would not encourage other women to come forward, given her own experience of being attacked online and called a liar.

But she said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press that she would continue her fight. She is being identified only by her last name, Zhou, because of harassment concerns.

“I believe, if there’s one case of someone being fired because of upholding their own rights, then there may be more and more such cases, and future victims of sexual assault may have an even more difficult time seeking justice,” she said.

Zhou accused a fellow Alibaba employee, surnamed Wang, and a client surnamed Zhang of sexual assault during a work trip in July. She said she woke up in her hotel room to find Wang kissing and groping her. She also said Zhang molested her while they were all at dinner. The wives of both men, who were not there, have publicly denied the accusations.

Police detained both men in August on suspicion of “forcible molestation”, but released Wang after 15 days, the longest one can be held under administrative detention. Prosecutors dropped the investigation into Wang, though Alibaba fired him. Zhang, the client, is in police custody and a criminal case is pending.

Initially, Zhou thought she would get justice. Alibaba’s CEO Daniel Zhang pledged in a public memo in August to create an anti-sexual harassment policy, and senior leaders vowed to improve management, she said. Two executives Zhou accused of not responding to her allegations resigned. One has since sued her.  (AP)