context: Recent scandals drew public attention to legal issues surrounding sexual assault against minors. This move to review sexual assault records comes just as the Civil Code adjusts the statute of limitations for cases of sexual assault against minors. In addition, a revised Protection of Minors Law was released for comment in July and a mandatory reporting system for minor cases was also established.
SPP (Supreme People’s Procuratorate), MoE (Ministry of Education) and MPS (Ministry of Security) jointly issued 'Opinions on setting up an access system for faculty and staff to check sexual assault records' and five model cases on 18 Sep 2020
- general provisions
- division of responsibilities among SPP, MoE and MPS
- covering
- primary and secondary schools, including secondary vocational schools and special education schools
- kindergartens
- content and methods
- sexual assault records
- covers crimes of rape, forced indecency and child molestation
- guilty verdicts by people's court
- non-prosecution decision made by people's procuratorate
- records of administrative punishment due to indecency
- not including sealed criminal records from when they were a minor
- covers crimes of rape, forced indecency and child molestation
- faculty and staff
- teachers
- administrative staff
- clerical staff
- security staff
- sexual assault records
- enquiries and objections
- MoE setting up a unified information query platform and connecting it with information sharing and service platforms among MPS departments
- enforcement and liabilities
- checking at
- teacher qualification application
- pre-employment
- in-service period
- keeping information confidential
- checking at
- faculty and staff of universities and staff of off-campus training institutions for minors can check references
Public security organs will continue to improve the national sexual assault offenders’ and criminals’ information system and implement the access system for faculty and staff, Wang Yongming 王永明 MPS Criminal Investigation Bureau second-level inspector told People's Public Security News. Sexual harassment of minors online is increasingly commonplace, so families should pay attention to the digital habits of children under their care, he added.
The system must balance effective minor protection with allowing criminals to reintegrate society after serving their sentence, Shi Weizhong 史卫忠 SPP Ninth Procuratorate director told China Youth Daily. SPP will gradually extend employment prohibition for past offenders to all industries that require close contact with minors through implementation and amendments of Protection of Minors Law.