People
Assault survivors: The inevitable trauma that follows
- 2020-12-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Simran VaswaniEdited by: AlecLastimosa
- 2020-12-16
Divya, 23, sits on the rooftop of the building she lives in and savours the pink and purple sunset Hong Kong has to offer. It's her favourite place in the world, her comfort, like being wrapped up in a big, cosy blanket on a chilly day. But in that same place more than 10 years ago was where she was sexually assaulted. At the time, she was 12 and her assaulter was 20. He was a relative who stayed under the same roof as her and would touch her inappropriately almost every day until she was 14. Until one day, while it was happening, she blacked out. She doesn't recall anything apart from waking up and shoving him off her. After that point, family tensions started rising due to unrelated reasons and he was out of her life for good. To this day Divya, who asked to be identified only by her first name, hasn't mentioned it to anyone in her family for she was terrified of victim-blaming, a prominent yet toxic culture in South Asian households where she was raised. Sexual violence is more likely to occur in patriarchal cultures, research has shown, and victim-blaming, when a woman is blamed for causing the assault because of her clothes or behaviour, is still prevalent. "I was afraid that people would think it was my fault," she said. 31 cases of rape and 414 cases of indecent assault have been reported as of August this year, according to statistics from the Hong Kong Police Force. While it showed a decrease compared to statistics last year, the reality is that many victims of sexual assault do not come forward. One out of seven women will experience sexual violence in Hong Kong, but nine out of ten stay silent in a report conducted …
The Chinese calligraphy behind a neon sign: a sunset industry reflourishing?
- 2020-12-12
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: TUNG Yi WunEdited by: ShukmanSo
- 2020-12-12
When you pay close attention to the corners and gaps of this city, the neon signs hold the nostalgic side of this metropolis-- be it still sparkling, drizzling or already lights out. Surrounded by a bright yellow lightbox with painted words ‘Zan1 Tai2 Zi6 'and emblazoned with white, red and fluorescent signboards, a man is repeatedly hand-writing to keep this tangible culture alive in a tiny corner shop in North Point for over 30 years. Au Yeung-cheong, the owner of King Wah Signboards has been running his business by writing specific calligraphy on the signboards “It is zan1 tai2 zi6!” Mr Au exclaimed. He emphasized there are oblivious differences between Traditional Chinese calligraphy and zan1 tai1 zi6.