Revisions of draft target trafficking of women

Lawmakers will review a draft that requires authorities down to the village committee level to report suspected cases of abduction and the trafficking of women to public security organs in a timely manner, China's top legislature said on Thursday.

The draft revisions of the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests target the swift detection and prevention of violations. It will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for second review during the session to be held from Monday to Wednesday in Beijing.

Household and marriage registration departments, township governments, neighborhood offices, community committees and village committees are required to promptly report suspected cases of abduction, trafficking or kidnapping to public security organs, said Zang Tiewei, spokesman of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission.

Public security organs will investigate and handle the cases in a timely manner, he said.

Zang said women's federations will take measures to strengthen the investigation of such offenses, and if any suspected illegal acts are discovered, they will promptly report to the public security organs, and assist in the rescue work.

Accommodation operators will accurately register the information of guests and report any such violations in a timely manner, he said.

"Serious violations of women's rights and interests have recently been exposed in certain places, which shows that there are weaknesses in grassroots governance and protection," Zang said.

In February, video footage of a mentally ill mother of eight, who was confined with an iron chain around her neck, shocked the public and sparked nationwide discussion over human trafficking and women's rights protection.

An investigation found the woman in Fengxian county of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, came from Yagu, a village in Yunnan province and was a victim of human trafficking.

Lawmakers and advisers advocated for more severe punishment for human trafficking crimes and the protection of women at the two sessions, the annual meetings of China's top legislature and political advisory body in March.

The measures under the revised draft will further clarify the responsibilities of related authorities, Zang said, adding that they "will help promptly detect the criminal acts that infringe on women's legitimate rights and interests, and severely crack down on such crimes in accordance with the law".

The draft revisions also include provisions to address gender discrimination. Related regulations will be added to clarify that employers may not restrict female employees from being promoted and obtaining professional and technical titles and positions due to marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding and other circumstances, Zang said.

When hiring school staff members, the draft also makes clear that schools should check whether they have criminal records of sexual assault and harassment, and people with such records may not be hired, he said.

From Dec 24 to Jan 22, the commission published the revised draft online to solicit opinions. About 85,200 netizens forwarded some 423,700 suggestions. Nearly 300 letters were received from the public, the data showed.

" (The netizens) think the draft revisions focus on prominent issues in the protection of women's rights and interests and respond to social concerns," Zang said, adding improvements to the draft were made based on public opinion.

According to the agenda of the standing committee session, lawmakers will also review draft laws on futures and derivatives, and black soil protection. They will deliberate on draft revisions to the Vocational Education Law and the Physical Culture and Sports Law.