Law bans sexual harassment, home violence
By Liu Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-06-27 05:28

Chinese lawmakers began yesterday to consider a revision to the Law on the Guarantee of the Rights and Interests of Women.

The revised law prohibits such practices as sexual harassment, domestic violence and medical examinations to discover the gender of a foetus.

"Any person is prohibited from sexually harassing a woman and employers must take measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace," reads one article of the revised law.

If the draft is passed as legislation, it will be the first time sexual harassment has appeared in the law.

Adopted by the National People's Congress (NPC) in 1992, the law on protecting the interests of women needs to be updated to meet the country's economic and social development, according to Minister of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office Cao Kangtai.

Legislators are scheduled to hold panel discussions on the revised law for the first time tomorrow.

Sexual harassment has become a big social issue in China in recent years.

Of the 5,500 men and 2,900 women surveyed online by sina.com.cn in 2003, 17 per cent of the women said they were often sexually harassed while only 3 per cent of the men said so.

Sixty per cent of the woman surveyed said they were sexually harassed occasionally, while the proportion of men was 18 per cent.

Sources with the Commission of Legislative Affairs under the NPC Standing Committee concluded in a document provided to the NPC to aid the legislative process that women were the main victims of sexual harassment.

Due to lack of appropriate legal proof and evidence, nearly all sexual harassment lawsuits since 2001 have ended in failure for the people who claimed they were violated, the document said.

Also yesterday, NPC Standing Committee members held panel discussions on the property law, which highlights the protection of individual property.

To avoid any possible infringement on individual property, the draft stipulated that it is forbidden to illegally change the ownership of private property under the name of relocation.

Those who do so and damage property in the process will be held civilly, administratively and even criminally responsible, according to the draft.

"The prescription, which was added after the second discussion, is in response to some Standing Committee members' proposals," Hu Kangsheng, vice-director of the NPC Law Committee said yesterday.

A number of Standing Committee members pointed out that some residents were not being well compensated after relocation.

The draft to the property law states these people would be able to file for compensation and get it if their rights were found to be infringed upon.

The draft of the property law, an important part of the civil code, will be made public after the meeting so the public can have their say, sources said.

The annual session of the NPC next year is expected to vote on the law if all goes to plan.

(China Daily 06/27/2005 page1)

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