Abstract
This case study examined how a case of sexual abuse of a young girl with intellectual disability by her father/guardian was brought to light, reported, investigated, and prosecuted, and the outcomes of the case. The case study examines how the child’s rights were protected and the social support provisions which were provided to the victims. This case study highlights the strengths and gaps in China’s emerging child protection system. A key strength was the adoption of a child rights perspective, with the child’s interests considered and prioritised at each stage of the process. A weakness was that while the child protection system offers protection to children who are victims of sexual abuse, the special needs of children with intellectual disability do not receive adequate support/special consideration. A further weakness was the lack of professional social worker involvement in decisions about placement options and the best interests of the child. The article discusses the implications of these findings for the emerging system and how the difficulties can be addressed.
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Notes
In the Chinese legal system, the procuratorate is the investigative arm of the judiciary.
Children who were left in their rural hometown by their migrant parents. There were over 60 million left-behind children in rural China in the middle of 2010s (Duan & Lu, 2015).
Judicial advice is an important policy approach to give full play of the judicial functions of the people’s court. “In the process of trial implementation, the people’s court shall offer timely judicial advice when it identifies any common omission, system deficiency, potential risks and other issues with institutions concerned” (Article 5, SPC, 2012).
“One-time inquiry” involves the child being questioned in a special family-like room with hidden recording equipment, to avoid repeat questioning. The process must be observed by staff from different departments (the court, the public security, and the procuratorial organ).
An in-kind social assistant program which provides guaranteed food, fuel, education (for orphans), medical care, and funeral costs (for old people), conditions applied, by Chinese government to the most vulnerable social groups.
Temporary assistance, including cash and in-kind support for families living in poverty.
Temporary assistance for people with disabilities or women in difficulty from Disabled Person’s Federation, or Women’s Federation, both organisations are officially supported.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the following support: National Social Science Fund-project title: China’s Child Welfare Development Strategy (17AZD016); Australia Research Council-project title: “Protecting Sexually Abused Children in China” (LP140100086); Right To Play (China); and Bei**g Child Legal Aid and Research Centre.
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Shang, X., Katz, I. & Tian, T. Protecting Sexually Abused Children with Intellectual Disability in the Emerging Child Protection System in China: a Case Study. Int. Journal on Child Malt. 4, 517–536 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-021-00096-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-021-00096-4