Two women brutally thrashed for resisting harassment, act caught on cam

Nine people have been taken into police custody for a brutal attack on a group of women in a restaurant in China, police said, in a case that has given rise to massive outrage over predatory sexual behaviour.

Video of the incident extensively shared of the internet displays a man keeping his hand on a woman's back as she shares a meal with two friends at a barbecue restaurant in China's Hebei province.

After the woman shoves him away, the man strikes her before others drag her outside and deal a barrage of blows as she lies on the surface. Another woman is also knocked to the floor.

The video regenerated an online discourse on the topic of sexual harassment and gender-based violence in China where the conversation around women's rights has increased in recent past regardless of pressure from a patriarchal society, internet censorship and patchy legal support.

The footage has disturbing visuals:

According to campaigners, domestic violence remains pervasive and under-reported while prominent feminists also face regular police harassment and incarceration.

Internet censors blocked keywords linked to the #MeToo movement after a wave of women accused university professors of sexual harassment in 2018.

Police on Saturday said they had nabbed eight people on suspicion of violent physical assault and "provoking trouble", while a search for one other suspect was underway.

Two women victims treated at hospital after the incident were "in stable conditions and not in mortal danger", while two others sustained minor injuries, authorities said Friday.

The vicious physical assault led to hundreds of millions of comments on social media, where users lambasted predatory conduct and urged authorities to crack down on violence against women.

"All of this could happen to me, could happen to any of us," said one commenter in a post liked over 100,000 times.

"How is this sort of thing still happening in 2022?" wrote another. "Please give them criminal sentences, and don't let any of them get away."

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