(Observation of the Two Sessions) How to protect minors, how to get out of the "hidden corner"?

　　China News Agency, Beijing, March 8 (Reporter Yuan Xiuyue Zhang Yichen) In recent years, cases of illegal abuse of minors have occurred frequently.

How to detect, stop, and investigate cases against minors in a timely manner has become the focus of attention from all walks of life.

　　During China's National People's Congress in 2022, a number of representatives and committee members spoke out on the issue of the prevention of violations of minors, suggesting that starting from the implementation and improvement of relevant systems and laws, weaving a secret legal safety net for minors and stepping out of "hidden corners".

Data map: Students in a primary school in Hangzhou are in class.

Photo by Wang Gang

　　Crimes against juveniles have always been difficult to find and late to find.

Some organizations collect statistics on the cases of sexual abuse of children publicly reported by the media every year. The data shows that the victims are generally younger, and the proportion of acquaintances who commit crimes is high, making it more difficult to crack down on such crimes.

　　In May 2020, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and other departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Establishing a Mandatory Reporting System for Violation Against Minors (for Trial Implementation)" to promote the resolution of these two major problems.

　　"The introduction of the mandatory reporting system provides a solution to the problem of crimes against minors." Fang Yan, deputy to the National People's Congress, president of the Shaanxi Women's Legal Workers Association, and director of Beijing Jincheng Tongda (Xi'an) Law Firm A reporter from China News Agency said that in practice, she found that there were still some specific problems.

For example, the subject of compulsory reporting is not clear enough, and there is a dilemma of lack of norms in accountability for violations of compulsory reporting obligations.

　　More importantly, because there are no clear regulations on the information protection and security protection measures of reporting subjects, some reporters with mandatory reporting obligations are still worried and fear retaliation.

Coupled with traditional concepts and reasons for responsibility awareness, there are still shortcomings in the implementation of the mandatory reporting system in reality.

　　In this regard, Fang Yan suggested that the compulsory reporting system for crimes against juveniles should be implemented, the subject scope of compulsory reporting obligors should be further clarified, the privacy and security of compulsory reporting obligors should be protected, and a rigid restraint mechanism of the compulsory reporting system should be established.

　　Liu Yingcai, deputy to the National People's Congress and director of the Acupuncture and Tuina Department of Jinan City People's Hospital in Shandong Province, also suggested that the responsibilities of mandatory reporting and clue discovery should be included in the grid management system of the jurisdiction, and the public should be widely mobilized to realize the crime against minors with the help of the grid staff management system. The active discovery, timely disposal and proper management of clues have boosted the all-round implementation of the mandatory reporting system.

　　On the other hand, with the development of the mobile Internet, the opportunities for minors to access the Internet have increased, and the cases of using the Internet to infringe on minors have increased.

　　"Cyber ​​violence seems to be far away from us, but before minors have developed a relatively mature thinking ability and judgment ability, they are likely to be directly or indirectly violated by online speech, leading to tragedy." Fang Yan said that through online social networking Cases of using tools to infringe on minors, such as cyber violence against minors, non-contact "internet space" obscene behavior, etc., are also violations of the legitimate rights and interests of minors. It is recommended that such cases be included in the mandatory reporting.

　　"Schools, parents and all sectors of society have mandatory reporting obligations. At the same time, in the face of new crimes in the new technology era, online platforms should also have the responsibility and obligation to protect." Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and founding partner of Beijing Jincheng Tongda Law Firm Liu Hongyu said.

On March 8, the second plenary session of the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Zhang Jun, chief procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, made a report on the work of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Sheng Jiapeng

　　On the 8th, Zhang Jun, the chief procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, made a report on the work of the Supreme People's Procuratorate to the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress, pointing out several sets of key figures for the protection of minors in 2021——

　　1,657 cases of violations against minors were handled through compulsory reporting, and 459 cases were rectified and held accountable for failing to perform reporting obligations.

Promoted 7.49 million job inquiries in the industry that had close contact with minors, and dismissed 2,900 people with criminal records.

Strictly prosecuted 61,000 people for crimes against minors such as sexual assault and abuse, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%.

　　The implementation of the mandatory reporting system is propping up another umbrella for minors.

It has become the common expectation of many representatives and committee members to let more subjects with mandatory reporting obligations perform their obligations with confidence, reduce or avoid harm to minors, and keep the "big bad wolf" out of the door.

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