Law stipulates heavier punishments to protect minors from sexual assault

Chinese legislators and courts pledged over the weekend to intensify the fight against sexual assaults of children in an effort to strengthen juvenile protection and provide them with a better legal environment.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, adopted an amendment to the Criminal Law on Saturday that stipulates heavier punishments for those who sexually assault girls.

The amended law, which will take effect on March 1, says people with special responsibilities, including those guarding, adopting, looking after, educating or offering medical care to juveniles, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if they have sex with girls aged 14 to 16, even if it's consensual. Further, anyone found to have had sex with girls under the age of 14 will be convicted of rape and face harsher penalties.

Meanwhile, people who rape girls under the age of 10 will receive a sentence of at least 10 years in prison and could even face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

In Chinese law, the crime of rape only applies to cases involving female victims.

The amended law also calls for harsher punishment－a sentence of five years or more－for people who have repeatedly committed child molestations, have acted indecently against multiple children, have committed such offenses in public or have molested juveniles in a cruel manner.

As the legislature moved to boost child protection, the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, said on Sunday that it would increase efforts to crack down on criminals who sexually assault children, aiming to offer stronger protection for juveniles and a sound legal environment for them.

He Rong, executive vice-president of the top court, demanded courts nationwide be cautious when handing down lenient punishments such as probation, parole and commutations to people who have pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting children.

Those who need to be harshly punished because they seriously harmed children must be given tougher punishments or even the death sentence in line with the law, she added.

In recent years, the country has taken various steps to protect juveniles from harm.

In May, for example, a guideline jointly issued by nine authorities said officials in government agencies and people who work closely with children, such as those in schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions, should be responsible for the timely reporting of incidents in which children are at risk or are being harmed.

The harms and risks it listed included sexual assault, abuse, bullying, domestic violence, desertion, abduction, poisoning and forced begging.

Two months later, an online platform for people to report cases of children suffering harm or facing potential danger was put into trial operation in a district of Chongqing.