Stronger punishments, better awareness urged to combat sexual assault of minors

A number of high-profile cases have prompted a review of school safety measures and parental oversight, as Zhang Yan reports.

"If I had attached greater importance to looking after my daughter and taught her how to protect herself in the presence of the strangers, she wouldn't have been sexually abused," said Song Hui (not her real name), whose child was repeatedly molested by a neighbor.

During the day, the 6-year-old girl attended a kindergarten, but at night she was usually left on her own while her mother was at work.