14 punished for shrinking obligation of reporting violations against minors

BEIJING -- The Supreme People's Procuratorate on Friday announced that since 2020, 14 individuals in China have been held criminally responsible for failing to fulfill their obligation to report violations against minors that led to serious consequences.

China in May 2020 issued a circular to establish a mandatory reporting system for violations against minors, requiring relevant officials and personnel working in close contact with children to report to the police without delay whenever they discover or suspect that a minor has fallen victim to illegal harm or is facing such danger.

Such personnel mainly include those working in community organizations, schools and kindergartens, after-school classes, hospitals and other medical institutions, social work services and hotels.

The revised Law on the Protection of Minors, which took effect in 2021, has made such reporting a legal obligation.

From May 2020 to December 2023, procuratorial agencies nationwide launched prosecutions in 9,282 cases following investigations based on relevant reports. In 2023, the number of sexual violation cases against minors occurring in hotels saw a 30.9 percent decrease year-on-year.

On Friday, the SPP published five typical cases involving the reporting system. In these cases, those committing crimes against minors have been brought to justice thanks to the reports from people including a hotel operator, a teacher and a doctor after they found minor victims during their work.