According to the news from the website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 29th, recently, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and other nine departments issued the "Opinions on Establishing a Mandatory Reporting System for Infringement of Minors (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as "Compulsory Report Opinions"). The "Compulsory Reporting Opinions" clarifies that state organs, various organizations authorized by the laws and regulations to exercise public power, and public officials prescribed by law, and various organizations and their employees in close contact with the minor industry have the obligation to report on cases of violations of minors It stipulates that nine types of situations such as sexual assault, abuse, bullying, and trafficking should be reported. For those cases, the relevant responsible entity should report. In order to stop crimes in time and effectively protect the legal rights and interests of minors, it is stipulated that those who find "suspicious" situations should also report.
The current crimes against minors continue to rise, and the problems of difficult prevention, discovery and evidence collection are urgently needed to be solved. From 2017 to 2019, procuratorial organs prosecuted crimes against minors totaling 47,600, 50,700, and 62,900 respectively, which increased by 6.8% and 24.2% year-on-year in the following two years. Judicial case handling found that the case was not found in time, which seriously affected the efficiency and effectiveness of fighting crime and helping minors.
The "Compulsory Reporting Opinion" stipulates that the mandatory reporting system for cases of violations of minors refers to the subjects of reporting obligations who find that minors have suffered or are suspected of being subjected to unlawful infringement and are facing the risk of unlawful infringement in their work. To promote the timely detection and handling of crimes against minors. The main contents are:
One is to clarify the main body of reporting obligations to strengthen responsibility. The "Compulsory Reporting Opinions" clarifies that state organs, various organizations authorized by the laws and regulations to exercise public power, and public officials prescribed by law, and various organizations and their employees in close contact with the minor industry have the obligation to report on cases of violations of minors . At the same time, the "close contact with the minor industry" is clearly defined as having special responsibilities for education, care, medical care, rescue, guardianship, etc., or the conditions for close contact with minors although they do not have special responsibilities. Units, enterprises, and organizations, such as education, medical care, child welfare institutions, and rescue agencies; hotels, guesthouses, and residents' (village) committees.
Second, it is clear that the situation should be reported so that it can be accurately grasped. The “Compulsory Reporting Opinions” stipulates nine types of cases of sexual assault, abuse, bullying, and trafficking that should be reported based on the types and common characteristics of cases of violations against minors in practice. For those cases, those responsible should report. In order to stop crimes in time and effectively protect the legal rights and interests of minors, it is stipulated that those who find "suspicious" situations should also report.
The “compulsory report opinions” stated that minors suffered or suspected of being illegally abused and faced the risk of illegal violations during work include:
(1) The minor's reproductive organs or private parts have suffered or are suspected of suffering abnormal damage;
(2) Female minors under the age of 14 have suffered or are suspected of having suffered sexual assault, pregnancy or miscarriage;
(3) Female minors over 14 years of age who suffer or are suspected of having suffered sexual assault due to pregnancy or miscarriage;
(4) The minor has multiple physical injuries, severe malnutrition, unconsciousness, or is suspected of being subjected to domestic violence, bullying, ill-treatment, beating, or anesthesia;
(5) Injuries and deaths caused by minors due to abnormal reasons such as suicide, self-mutilation, work-related injuries, poisoning, anesthesia, and beatings;
(6) The minor is abandoned or left unattended for a long time;
(7) It is found that the minor has an unknown source, is missing, or has been abducted or bought;
(8) It is found that minors are organized to beg;
(9) Other situations that seriously infringe upon the physical and mental health of the minor or the minor is facing the risk of illegal infringement.
The third is to stipulate the precautions in the reporting process and create favorable conditions for the next step to deal with the case in a timely and accurate manner. Subjects responsible for reporting to the public security organs to report or report to the public security organs in accordance with the circumstances stipulated in this Opinion shall report and file in accordance with the requirements of the competent administrative organs. Relevant units, institutions, organizations and personnel that have the conditions for pre-verification can conduct preliminary verification of the situation in which minors are suspected of being illegally violated, and submit relevant materials to the public security organ when reporting a case or report. Medical institutions and their employees should also maintain a high degree of vigilance, and write, record, and maintain relevant medical records in accordance with regulations.
The fourth is to regulate the investigation and punishment of public security organs and the supervision of procuratorial organs to ensure timely handling of complaints and reports in accordance with law. After receiving a report or report, the public security organ shall immediately accept it and find out the preliminary situation, examine the case according to law for suspected violations of public security management, investigate the case according to law for suspected crime, and report to the reporting unit within three days after accepting or filing Give feedback on the progress of the case and inform the reporting unit before transferring the case for review. If the people's procuratorate believes that the public security organ should file a criminal investigation and not file a case, it shall carry out supervision according to law.
Fifth, it is required to protect and rescue minor victims during reporting and disposal. If the public security organ or the People ’s Procuratorate finds that minors need protection and assistance, they shall entrust or provide assistance with the civil affairs department, the Communist Youth League, the Women ’s Federation, etc .; if the guardians do not perform their guardianship duties in violation of the law, or infringe upon the legal rights and interests of the minors, they shall be advised or ordered He accepts family education guidance and punishes him in accordance with the law and regulations in serious circumstances; if he finds that there is a problem of domestic violence, the relevant department may act on behalf of minors in accordance with the law to protect the personal safety of the applicant. Relevant personnel should pay attention to protecting the privacy of minors, and those who spread privately should be held accountable for legal responsibility.
Sixth, strengthen the guarantee of fulfilling responsibilities. In order to eliminate the ideological worries of the reporting obligation subject to retaliation, the "Compulsory Reporting Opinions" stipulates that the reporter shall not bear the corresponding legal responsibility for the disputes caused by the report, and the organizations and individuals that interfere with or hinder the report shall be investigated according to law legal liability. Those who report the case in time to avoid serious consequences shall be rewarded. The relevant department shall keep the information of the informant confidential.
Seventh, establish a supervision and accountability mechanism for the implementation of the system. The relevant functional departments should supervise and guide the implementation of the mandatory reporting system in the competent industry and field. The procuratorial organ shall carry out legal supervision on the implementation of the "Compulsory Reporting Opinions". In particular, the State Supervisory Committee attaches great importance to the improvement of the mandatory reporting system for cases of violations of minors, and has participated in the formulation and signing of documents. In the next step, if public officials do not attach importance to mandatory reporting for a long time and fail to implement the mandatory reporting system as required, the supervisory committees at all levels will be held accountable and investigated and dealt with according to law in relation to suspected crimes against the law. These highlight the "compulsory" of the system, so that the effective protection system can be implemented to play its due role in combating crimes against minors and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors.
The Supreme People's Procuratorate stated that the establishment of a mandatory reporting system is of great significance for timely intervention and effective protection of minors.
First, it is helpful to discover clues of minors' violations in the first place, improve the fixed evidence in time, effectively punish illegal crimes, and minimize the degree of illegal harm.
The second is to enable the minors who have been violated to get timely and effective psychological intervention, judicial assistance and other work, and to effectively safeguard their physical health and legal rights.
The third is to help eliminate hidden dangers in time, plug management loopholes, and promote minors to protect social governance.
Fourth, it is helpful to integrate the resources and strength of various departments, and form a good situation for the protection of minors in a departmental linkage and orderly connection.
The implementation of the mandatory reporting system in the future will increase the awareness of the responsibility of relevant units and personnel, and will further enhance the awareness of the protection of minors by the broad masses of the people, gather social consensus, and create a stronger atmosphere of care and protection of minors in the entire society.