China gender-based violence, victim-blaming in the spotlight after man arrested over alleged murder of woman jogging
- The 21-year-old woman, surnamed Zhu, was reported missing by her family on November 1 and her body was found four days later in a nearby park
- The case has renewed debate over risks women face in their daily lives, as well as victim-blaming
A man in central China has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman while she was on a morning run, in a case that has renewed debate in China over gender-based violence and sexist attitudes.
The 21-year-old woman, surnamed Zhu, was reported missing by her family on November 1. Police mounted a search and found her body on November 5, the local police in Zhushan township, Hubei province, central China, said in an official notice on Monday night.
“After investigations by the city and township police, we caught the suspect, a 41-year-old male surnamed Zhang on November 8, and the case is being further processed,” the notice said.
Zhu left home for a run at around 6am on November 1. She ran along a river, then went to the local Nanshan park to hike at 6.47am, according to previous media reports.
Zhu’s aunt, Cai, told Red Star News that Zhu contacted her father at around 7.40am, but when her father called again at 8am, she was not picking up. Her family started looking for her themselves, and reported her missing to police later that evening.
Zhu’s mother said she has always had a habit of running in the morning, sometimes as early as 5am.