From Screen to Regulation: Adjustments of Chinese Criminal Law Regarding Male and Minor Girls' Sexual Rights

Keqian Chen ； Yining Zheng

《Frontiers in Economics and Management》 5卷6期 (2024/06) Pp. 24-33

https://doi.org/10.6981/FEM.202406_5(6).0003

摘要

In the digital age, a new perspective on sex and sexual rights has emerged in China, with the internet playing a crucial role. Responding to the public's call for legislation against sexual violence. The legislature added a new article on 'sexual assault by care personnel' as Article 236a of the Criminal Law and amended Article 237 'crime of forcible molestation'. These new articles have criminalized some behaviors. However, the definition of 'personnel with special duties' and whether males can be recognized as victims of rape under the current legal framework are still in dispute. It is recommended that the legislature clarify the concept of sexual autonomy in the digital age and bridge the gap between current criminal laws and public expectations.

關鍵字

Sexual Crimes ； Digital Age ； Chinese Criminal Law

參考文獻

It is the general view in China that sexual offences protect the legal interest of ‘sexual autonomy’, while some believe that sexual criminal laws protect the legal interest of ‘sexual shame’, see Zhang Mingkai: Criminal Law (Sixth Edition), Law Press·China, 2021, 1131. (In Chinese).

In fact, although Robert Y. Bao and Li Xingxing’s mother entered into an adoption agreement, this adoption relationship was invalid because it did not comply with the provisions of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China.

See Joint Supervisory Group of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security Briefs on the Investigation of Bao’s Alleged Sexual Assault Case, on the official website of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/qwfb/202009/t20200917_ 480227.shtml.

See Zhang Mingkai: Criminal Law (Sixth Edition), Law Press·China, 2021, 1132. (in Chinese).

See ZHOU Xiang, MENG Zhu: The Rationale for the Crime of “Sexual Assault by Persons with Duty of Care”: Implicit Coercion and Ethical Taboos, Journal of Nantong University (Social Sciences Edition), No.2(2021), 97-108. (in Chinese).