Evidence collection from minors in sexual assault cases standardized across all Shanghai districts

The one-stop procedure in which police officers and prosecutors collect evidence from minor victims in sexual assault cases has been implemented to all the districts in Shanghai to prevent repeated psychological distress caused to victims, said a senior prosecutor in the city during a press briefing to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of a special prosecution team to deal with such cases.

Wu Yan, director of the department handling criminal cases involving juveniles at the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, said that inquiry about case facts and details as well as evidence detection and collection by the police and prosecuting agency are now completed at the same time in a child-friendly environment within 23 designated police stations in the city.

"Lawyers providing legal assistance, social workers, and psychological counselors are also on site during the one-stop evidence collection process to provide necessary help. In some districts, a private area to conduct physical examination of the child victim is also provided and there's no need for the child to be taken to a medical institution," said Wu.

Shanghai's Fengxian District Procuratorate first initiated the one-stop practice in 2015.

"Such practice has been favored by the national prosecution authority and its popularization in the nation is underway," said a prosecution officer surnamed Xu from Fengxian district.

Wu added that legal assistance, medical assistance, psychological counseling, and assistance regarding schooling for minors who are victims in criminal cases are also provided.

"Between 2016 and 2020, there were nearly 3,000 instances of such assistance being provided to such juveniles," she said.

Holistic assistance and care are also provided to juvenile lawbreakers, and family education guidance have been provided to the parents of more than 2,080 underaged lawbreakers over the past five years. Wu noted that 98.4 percent of these juveniles did not reoffend.