Sex crimes by minors are increasing because of pornography and a
breakdown in family values, a judge has said.
The number of juvenile cases involving prostitution, sexual
abuse and rape has grown since 2002, records from Beijing's Haidian
District People's Court showed.
Court Judge Wang Lijuan said 70 percent of the teenaged
criminals, most 16 or 17, had not graduated from high school. About
60 percent came from broken homes.
In 2005 there were five cases of rape, compared with 11 last
year, she said.
Wang cited the case of one 16-year-old who constantly watched
porn films after his mother went abroad and his father was too busy
to take care of him.
In time he wanted to put into practice what he had watched and
raped a woman, Wang said the youngster told her. He was imprisoned
for the offense.
"More than 90 percent of the young criminals involved in rape
cases admitted pornographic websites, books and films had
influenced them," Wang said.
"Teenagers have plenty of curiosity but little self-control when
exposed to obscene material."
Another factor behind the increase in sex crimes by minors is
the earlier onset of puberty, Li Bian, deputy director of the AIDS
Prevention Education Project for Chinese Youth, said.
A recent survey suggested the average age of puberty has dropped
from 13 to 11.
Both Wang and Li called for better care at home and more
education at school.
"Parents should provide not only material security for their
children, they also need to care and be more enlightened when it
comes to the proper transmission of sex knowledge," Wang said.
Li also called for more sex education classes and instruction in
the law.
"Young people's knowledge of sex in China lags behind their
physical growth," Li said. "Schools are the most important place
for the prevention of sex crimes."
Tong Lihua, director of the minor protection law committee of
the All China Lawyer's Association, called on the government to
control the flow of pornography.
"Porn magazines and related publications should be destroyed and
movies (with adult content) should be managed according to
ratings," Tong said.
"All video shops renting out porn movies and illegal Internet
cafes should be shut down."
(China Daily September 14, 2007)