Top procuratorate calls for more protection of kids from sexual assault

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), has vowed to introduce new measures and to collaborate with other authorities in order to better protect the country's more than 300 million minors from sex assault.

Tong Jianming, the deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, is interviewed after the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Yin Gang]

Tong Jianming, the deputy procurator-general of the SPP, said that a special department was set up last year to deal with cases involving minors. He was speaking on Tuesday at the annual gathering of China's legislature, the National People's Congress.

Referring to a SPP proposal sent to the Ministry of Education last October which suggested further efforts of promoting campus security to prevent sexual assaults against schoolchildren, Tong said educational institutions at all levels had taken measures to tackle the issue.

So far, over 86 percent of primary and secondary schools, and kindergartens in China have hired security guards, according to the Education Minister Chen Baosheng. The minister vowed on Tuesday to make China's campuses safe by working in partnership with other authorities.

[File Photo: VCG]

Over 750 children reportedly suffered from sexual assault last year, with 80 percent of the victims less than 14 years of age. The youngest child was just three years old, according to a report published by Girls' Protection, a foundation committed to raising awareness of precautions against sexual assault. The report shows nearly 70 percent of the offenses were committed by an acquaintance, and in 22 percent of the cases the perpetrator was a teacher.