Ye Haiyan

Ye Haiyan (born 1975) is a Chinese gender activist, best known for her action in favor of women, prostitutes, and children against violence and sexual aggression. She exposed the harsh conditions of local brothels, in which sex workers were sexually and physically abused.^[1] She is also well known by the name of Hooligan Sparrow (流氓燕).

In 2005 Ye created a website to support sex workers. Ye says this is her first encounter with feminism.^[1] In the year that followed she became the founder of China Grassroots Women’s Rights Center.^[2][3]

In May of 2012, Ye was driven to a wall after accumulating debt, and was denied NGO as there was no local government to support her. Her determined writing an advocacy gained her the trust of better known Chinese artists like Ai WeiWei. The NGO office Ye was using after support in Guangxi was raided by eight plainclothes men who reportedly attacked her. Haiyan said after the attack that she presumed the men had been sent by the local government.^[4][5]

On the 27th of May 2013, she protested against a school director in Hainan accused of raping six female students, aged 12 to 13.^[6] This sparked national outrage via Sina Weibo -- a microblogging website that is one of the largest social media platforms in China.^[7] She held a poster to tell the principal to have a room with her, implying to have sex with her instead of the youth: "Principal, call me if you want to get a room. Leave the pupils alone."^[8] Shortly after the release of her online campaigns against these cases of child abuse, Ye was physically attacked in her home by women who she believed to be sent by the local government. ^[9]

In June of 2013, the filmmaker Ai Xiaoming worked together with Ye in her campaign to publicize the alleged rape of the 6 high school girls, who were violated by their principal.^[10][11] On the 6th of July 2013, Ye alongside her daughter and boyfriend Ling Huobo, were left abandoned on the side of the road by Guangdong secret agents.^[7]

In May 2014, she was attacked in her home and arrested for being a whistleblower because she exposed the harsh conditions of local brothels, in which sex workers were sexually and physically abused.^[2]

A documentary by the name of Hooligan Sparrow,^[12] that features Ye was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. The documentary depicts the 2013 campaign protesting the school girl rape incident. In the documentary Ye, alongside other activists in her area, are depicted raising awareness and protesting child rape.^[13][14][15] They become a target to the media for these protests as they continue to broadcast their efforts through their social media platforms. Ye and her activist partners eventually leave the country due to the intimidation by the southern Chinese government. ^[9]

Ye's activism has exposed the authorities and school officials but has had a negative effect on her daughter because schools are not willing to enroll her.^[7]

Ye and her daughter have also reported to be victims of several physical assault incidents following Ye's release of online campaigns against child abuse. ^[9] In an incident in Guangxi during May 2013, Ye defended her home and daughter against a group of women believed to be sent by the government, injuring three of her attackers and eventually resulting in her administrative detainment. ^[9] Ye and her family faced harassment by the public following her release, and eventually had to leave their home and reside in the Guangdong province.

• Documentary about Ye, titled Hooligan Sparrow, streaming at PBS

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