Child abuse

While strengthening the prevention of juvenile crimes, China's child protection has also been enhanced.

Yao Jialei, a prosecutor from Beijing's Dongcheng district, said that the majority of cases in which minors were victims last year involved sexual assault, including those who committed the crime via the internet.

In one case, for example, a father reported to police after finding his 13-year-old daughter was lured to send naked videos and photos to two men on WeChat between December 2022 and January 2023.

Yao said that the suspects were quickly indicted on the charge of allegedly molesting children, adding that the efficient handling of the case was due to a judicial interpretation specifying circumstances in which people who sexually abuse minors online should be prosecuted.

Before the interpretation was enacted, people who encouraged juveniles to undress online or requested naked pictures or videos were difficult to prosecute because no physical contact had been made.

"But after the interpretation took effect, the confusion in legal practice has been removed," Yao said.

"Considering the girl in the case had little awareness of self-protection, we also offered her and her family legal education and counseling services," she added.

The top court reaffirmed that people who sexually harm children would face harsher punishment with "zero tolerance". Three child abusers and rapists were executed in November.

One case showed that a former primary school teacher surnamed Guo was discovered to have raped six girls who were all under 14 years old, over 100 times from 2013 to February 2019, and molested three others under the age of 12 multiple times.

"Left-behind children in rural areas and minors with mental problems were more likely to be the criminal targets of sexual abuse," the top court said, revealing that many criminals raped or sexually abused juveniles after luring them on the internet.

Cyber protection

Since the beginning of last year, a State-level regulation that tightens supervision on children's internet use came into effect, aiming to ensure a healthier online environment for minors.

According to data released by the China Internet Network Information Center, China had 196 million netizens under the age of 18 as of December 2023, with the internet penetration rate among the group increasing to 97.3 percent from 93.7 percent in 2018.

The regulation not only calls for government agencies to provide more benefits for internet users, but also requires quick responses to pressing issues, such as harmful content, personal information leakage, internet addiction and cyberbullying.

As the country ramps up cyber protection through administrative measures, the Beijing Internet Court has also stepped up efforts to help juveniles surf the web in a healthy manner by opening a tribunal to specialize in resolving child-related civil lawsuits.

Since it was established in May 2021, the tribunal has heard more than 700 cases, 86.4 percent of which were settled through mediation, according to Zhao Ruigang, vice-president of the court.

"We increased communication with minor litigants to alleviate their anxiety and intensified guidance for their parents while tackling the disputes, especially those related to online gaming, pornography and cyberbullying, so as to effectively protect minors' rights in cyberspace," he said.

"We've also sent judicial suggestions to internet platforms with irregularities, urging them to optimize real-name registration systems and tighten the monitoring of online content, he added.

The court has published a series of comics and mini-dramas aimed at increasing online safety awareness in minors, which have been viewed more than 3 million times, said Sun Mingxi, a senior judge from the court.

She added that two reports, one for guiding teenagers to sensibly support pop stars and the other focusing on cyber protection, have also been viewed more than 15 million times.

The two court officials emphasized the importance of legal education for children, saying that it is conducive to both the prevention of juvenile crimes and child protection. They suggested more social organizations join in the education drive, so that more information can be collected to enrich the content of comics and dramas.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn