Shen Yueyue speaks during the third session of the 12th National People's Congress held at the Great Hall of the People on March 8, 2015. (Photo : http://english.gov.cn)
Shen Yueyue, president of All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, proposed that the act of engaging in paid sex with underage girls be regarded as a form of rape.
Speaking during the panel discussion of the 15th session of the 12th NPC Standing Committee on June 26, Shen made the proposal in light of the plans of the committee to amend the Criminal Law. She wants the present law pertaining to paid sex with female minors be made as a criminal offense categorized as rape.
The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China was issued in 1979, and former President Jiang Zemin signed for promulgation its revised edition on March 14, 1997.
In Chapter VI: Crimes of Obstructing the Administration of Public Order under Section 8: Crimes of Organizing, Forcing, Luring, Sheltering and Introducing Women into Prostitution, the second paragraph of Article 360 stipulates: “Whoever lures a girl under the age of 14 to engage in prostitution shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and concurrently be sentenced to a fine.”
In Chapter IV: Crimes of Infringing Upon the Rights of the Person and the Democratic Rights of Citizens, the first paragraph of Article 236 stipulates: “Whoever rapes a woman by force, threat or other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years.”
As for the laws in many countries, a man can be charged of rape if he had sexual intercourse with a female minor even if he paid her for the act and/or she gave her consent. The premise is that the law does not allow minors to legally give consent.
Shen was not the first one to push for an amendment.
Cao Yisun, Yu Jinrao and Zhu Zhengfu, members of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), did the same thing in 2014; Jiang Yue'e, the director general of ACWF’s Department of the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests, called for it in 2013; and Sun Xiaomei, a deputy of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) has been bent on having it abolished since 2010.
In 2013, according to the statistics provided by ACWF, the number of abandoned children or “left-behind children” reached a staggering 61 million. These children could be possible victims of sexual assault by strangers, and given their present situation where there are no parents to turn to, if such incident occurs, they may have no choice but to keep the painful experience to themselves.
An amendment of the law is being initiated and supported by many members of the society to protect the rights and general well-being of children, particularly female minors.
The future of a country not only lies in the hands of its leaders but also in the hands of children. One better way of protecting a nation’s future is by protecting its children, and what better way to protect the children than to impose better laws protecting them?
