Progress made in war on child sex abuse

Lack of knowledge

On Sina Weibo, the Anti-Online Sexual Exploitation account attracted widespread attention following the "Nth Room case" in South Korea. After the case caused shock waves throughout Asia, the account's creator, Zhao Yaya, said she realized just how little Chinese people knew about sex crimes.

Zhao and a dozen volunteers launched the account in March to post information at home and overseas about online sexual abuse and ways to prevent it.

"I want to raise people's awareness of how serious sexual violations can be, especially child sexual exploitation. We post information about legal assistance regarding sex crimes and keep a close eye on some high-profile cases," Zhao said. She added that defining and regulating online sexual abuse against juveniles will be a topic for future discussion.

Chen, the assistant judge, said that in addition to board games such as Li Zhihui's Life, artworks can help greatly to raise social awareness.

"Movies, books and even games mirror our real-life world, more or less. People love them and will develop new thoughts from them. Our cultural and social norms shape a reluctance to openly talk about sex and sexuality. Such works can help change this little by little," Chen said.

Many Sina Weibo users, upset by recent sexual crimes against children, have told their own stories, including one woman who said she was sexually abused by her cousin, and never told anyone, not even her parents.

"I was so afraid to tell the truth to my parents. I was not confident that they would believe and support me. I didn't want to be seen as a girl who was 'not pure'," she posted.

Gwon, the board game creator, believes that blaming victims for sex crimes, in addition to complacency, has created the criminals of today.

"These violent crimes occur because society has turned a blind eye to gender discrimination," she said.

Li, from CITIC Press Group, who edited Li Zhihui's Life, said one mother told her she would give the game to her daughter as a guide to growing up.

"The game is not just about sexual assault, but the difficulties a woman might encounter throughout her life," Li said.

"A game, a movie or a book might not be able to completely overturn social cognition, but from a small start, and by raising people's awareness step by step, society can progress," she added.