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Thorny issue for lawmakers
2003-07-01
China Daily
The latest batch of sexual harassment cases in China have stirred controversy over the strength of the nation's current legislation for protecting victims from such concerns.
Sociologists are calling for clearer legal provisions to tackle this social nuisance, but legal professionals said that current legislation offers enough redress to this end, although at the moment it's impossible to fix a concrete legal definition of sexual harassment.
"The legislation should cover sexual harassment either in the form of a new separate law or adding provisions to current laws," said Tang Can, a researcher from the Sociology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
She said such urgency was reflected by the ongoing negative impact that sexual harassment has caused to victims.
"The aftermath has developed from spiritual agony to a serious encroachment of economic rights, and damage to family integrity," Tang said.
While women, especially young women make up the majority of sexual harassment victims, Tang said children and men are sometimes harassed sexually as well.
"Clear prohibition of sexual harassment in the law will show the legislators' moral judgment on this issue to society, and also frighten those who intend to commit sexual harassment," she said.
In response to increasing appeals from the public to enhance protection of sexual harassment victims, the All-China Women's Federation has proposed to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to add related provisions when revising the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests.
Tang added it is vital to clearly define sexual harassment in such legislation.
However, civil law professors argued that it is extremely difficult to give a comprehensive and legally correct definition of such conduct, and that current legislation can offer hope for the victims.
"We have tried to incorporate sexual harassment in the country's civil code drafts, but failed for the difficulty in summing up what conducts constitute sexual harassment," said Wang Liming, professor of civil law at Renmin University of China.
Wang was one of the leading civil law experts invited by top legislators to draft the country's first civil code, which is now still under legislative debate.
Wang said that current general provisions on the rights to personal existence and freedom can offer legal grounds for judges to look at while dealing with civil claims from sexual harassment offenders.
Wu Changzhen, a professor of civil law with China University of Politics and Law, echoed Wang by adding that more difficulties lie in obtaining evidence.
Wu said legislation should be worked out step-by-step, following priorities set by social norms. She added it is not at a mature enough stage to devise a separate law on sexual harassment now.
She predicted that legislators might consider a new law on sexual harassment after drafting a law on the prevention and punishment of domestic violence, which is a more prominent problem in this country.
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