Child abuse in China

Child abuse in China is not clearly defined by the Chinese legal code.

Laws
The Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Minors (未成年人保护法) and the criminal law of China (刑法) do not address the subject of child abuse. Article 49 of the current Chinese constitution, however, forbids the physical abuse of elderly people, women, and children. According to Wang Shengjun, former president of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China, China does not have a specific law enforced to protect the welfare of children. Statutes concerning this offence are present, but they lack a systematic codification. There are more than 30 organizations within the Chinese government in which child protection is referenced, but none of them is specifically established to tackle child abuse.

Initiatives
In 2019, China announced plans to build a national database of sex offenders against minors. It also issued new guidelines for educators, and those found sexually harassing students may face a lifetime ban from teaching. In 2021, China announced a mandatory reporting system to improve prosecution of such crimes.

Punishments
Currently, a large number of child abuse incidents in China have not been adjudicated. Punishments have been lenient, such as 5-day detentions for the offenders in many cases. The detention is executed according to the public security administration penal code (治安管理处罚法) which does not have the regulatory authority to enforce the protection of children. Article 45 of the aforementioned law refers to the detention of abusers of family members who are requested to be prosecuted by their family members.

Traditional values and consequences
To understand the context of legal protection for children, it is important to examine China’s traditional values. Confucianism has a significant impact on Chinese family and state values. Confucians believe loyalty to one's family is above being loyal to their nation. Good family units would lead to the nation’s prosperity as a whole. This means that, in traditional Chinese culture, family is the backbone of the state. "The family is the root of the state." The head of the family serves as its foundation, clearly demonstrating that the state's network of relationships is based on family ties, and the ethics of individual families form the foundation of social ethics."

With these traditional beliefs in mind, it is difficult for China as a nation to create laws that protect children at home. Confucianism makes it clear that it is the parent's responsibility to decide how they want to raise and discipline their children. It would seem inappropriate for the government to decide what behaviour constitutes separating a child from their parents, especially since family is arguably the biggest priority in Chinese society. This makes it extremely difficult to set up any type of child protective service, especially when, according to Zhao, China only sees a select group as needing aid. “Anyone with a family was thought to have his or her basic life needs satisfied, and only the homeless and those from poverty-stricken families would be identified as needing social services”.

According to these beliefs, children in a family that is not impoverished do not need assistance. Social services are unlikely to rescue or even help a child from a well-off family who is a victim of abuse. Unfortunately, according to Xu, there is a large percentage of children under the age of 18 who are victims of neglect and abuse. Xu explains that, out of the 400 million children in China, “26.6% of Chinese children have suffered physical abuse, 19.6% emotional abuse, 8.7% sexual abuse, and 26% neglect” (107). This represents a staggering number of children who are enduring significant hardship. Some are likely poor and orphaned, but others may live in wealthy families.

Even when the majority of people treat their children with love and care, there will always be those who will hurt their son or daughter. Not stepping in has left millions of children susceptible to maltreatment. Some argue that traditional Chinese beliefs are no longer evident in new generations. They may claim that because values in China are changing, Confucianism should no longer get in the way of child protective laws. However, Zhao explains that “most young couples are willing to live with their ageing parents or parents-in-law, ignoring economic constraints”. This strongly implies that young people still highly value their family units.

Instead of seeking to create a life for themselves, couples choose to take care of their parents and grandparents, even though it is a financial burden. This strongly implies that younger generations still hold the traditional belief that family comes before anything else. Alternatively, there is a group of children whose circumstances leave them vulnerable in a specific way.

According to Yu, the “Reform and Opening Up" policy that has been in effect for the past 30 or so years has made cities in China flourish. Yet, poverty is still prevalent in rural areas. “To help families get rid of adverse circumstances, many young adults leave rural residences for cities in pursuit of better salaries, leaving their children at home” (Yu 2). Yu goes on to expand that, because of this encouragement, there has been a group of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China (2). Parents will travel to the city out of a desperate need to provide for their families. This is a noble cause but unfortunately, the pains of having little to no contact with one's parents leave a child especially vulnerable to mental health issues (Tian 6). Tian states that “the number of LBCs had climbed to a staggering 61 million, accounting for 37.7% of the rural children and 21.9% of the total Chinese children” (1). That is an enormous amount of children who are without one or both of their parents.

This is a problem because, according to Tian, children with little to no parental support are more likely to participate in, or experience, self-harm (SH), depression, and suicidal thoughts or attempts. He states that “children with less perceived family support had higher incidence and severer SH behaviors” (6). This is a huge concern. With their parents gone, LBCs are far more likely to exhibit such behaviors. “Existing studies highlight the importance of SH in suicide, as it has been estimated that approximately 50–60% of suicidal deaths were coupled with a history of SH, and SH adolescents reported a threefold risk of suicidal ideation (SI) compared with their non-SH counterparts” (Tian 2). Protecting children does not only mean protecting them from others' harm, but preventing them from harming themselves. LBC are at a heightened risk of depression, SH, and suicidal thoughts.

Gender differences
According to Wan, “boys in rural China have a higher rate of abuse compared to girls as a whole, while girls are at a higher risk of experiencing neglect” (1076). It would seem that boys and girls tend to suffer in different ways. Wan goes on to explain that this is due to gender roles in a Confucian society. “Rural boys are expected to take more responsibility for family prosperity in Confucian society, whereas it is thought that most girls will leave home after they are married, so higher expectations tend to cause more physical or verbal punishment for boys” (Wan 1076).

In this culture, the parents' livelihood seems to depend on their son’s ability to take care of them when they can no longer work. The unfortunate side effect of this is that a selfish or aggressive parent will lash out at his or her son if he does not fall in line. When it comes to the reasons why girls seem to be affected more by neglect than other types of abuse, the answer is more complicated. The simplest answer that Wan provides is that “ emotional neglect may come not only from girls’ characteristics of being sensitive, fragile, and precocious but also from the insufficient attention and limited resources they receive from their families… Confucian culture regards tolerance and understanding as virtues inherent to women, which will also reduce girls’ willingness to externalize their pressure and strengthen their feelings of loneliness” (1076). Girls are meant to be understanding, patient, and tolerant. Neglectful households seem to overlook a young girl, and it would seem inappropriate to make her needs known.

After several violent cases were brought to light, continual backlash from both the general public and netizens caused the courts in late 2018 to toughen sentences for offenders.

Sexual abuse against minors
Due to a lack of awareness and sexual education, some juveniles do not realize that they have been sexually abused.

Between 2010 and 2013, there were 7,963 cases of obscene behavior involving minors nationwide. Prosecutors were able to charge 255 individuals with sexually abusing girls.

In 2019, China announced a series of efforts, including a national database of offenders and potential lifetime bans from teaching, to tackle sex crimes against children.

In 2020, over 80 former students came out against a teacher and later administrator at an international school in Sichuan for sexually harassing them, leading to his arrest. A case involving a businessman who had allegedly sexually assaulted his foster daughter raised calls for a more clearly defined age of consent.

From 2018 to 2022, 290,000 individuals were charged with crimes against minors, of which 131,000 were prosecuted for sexual offenses such as rape and child molestation. 41% of those prosecuted were given a prison sentence longer than three years, 23.9% higher than that for criminals overall. In addition, 700 people who failed to report crimes against minors were punished.

2,503 centers have been set up in China to handle sexual abuse cases against minors.

Child labor
Child labor is a social issue in China. In October 2018, a study was conducted based on data from China Family Panel Studies. The study found about 7.74% of children aged 10 to 15 worked in 2010, and a positive correlation between child labor and school dropout rates. The study found that on average, a child who works 6.75 hours a day has 6.42 fewer hours to study compared to other children.