Rape in China

Rape is a common crime in China. Marital rape is not illegal in China. Same-sex sexual assault between males was made illegal in late 2015. In 2007, the U.S. Department of State reported 31,833 rapes in China, but no similar report by the Chinese government has been made available.

History

During the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), rape was very difficult to prove. A woman who was sexually attacked had to prove that she had offered the utmost resistance and fought vigorously throughout the entire ordeal. Failure to do so would expose the woman herself to criminal prosecution for being complicit in "consensual illicit intercourse".

Prevalence, analysis and statistics

Rape in China is not widely discussed in the media. Luo Tsun-yin, a social psychologist at Shih Hsin University in Taiwan, asserts that fewer than one in 10 rape cases in China are reported.

The United Nations's 2013 Multi-country Study on Men and Violence asked men in both rural and urban areas of China if they had ever coerced a female into having sex (including alcohol facilitated rape). 22.2% said yes. 9.3% had done so in the past year. 19.4% raped their partner. 55% of the men who had raped had done so more than once and 9% had raped four or more women. 86% cited sexual entitlement as their motive (the highest percentage in the study) and 57% answered that they raped out of boredom. 72.4% experienced no legal consequences. 1.7% had raped another man. 25.1% who had raped reported first doing so as a teenager. 2.2% admitted to having committed gang rape.

Social stigma cast on victims of rape

Victims of rape in China often remain silent and do not report the crime because traditional culture holds that being raped is shameful and should be kept private. Popular activist Guo Jianmei told the story of a villager who raped over 100 women, and asserted that "not one of them spoke up." In another incident, a girl and her mother tried to register a complaint against a rapist, but Zhong Xiancong, a police official, did not register it and suggested to the victim, "To protect your reputation, you should forget about the whole thing."

Rape is regarded as taboo in Chinese culture, and the victim is often rejected by society, as the culture views women as solely responsible for the rape. One American victim of rape in China stated that she felt she would have been prosecuted by the state if she had tried to speak out against the rape.

Law

The laws against rape in China have been criticized by numerous sources. Guo Jianmei noted that weaknesses in the legal system make it very possible for rapists to escape justice. Same-sex rape was not illegal until 2015 in China, and legal loopholes allow child rapists to escape with light sentences.

In 2011, a man who raped another man was convicted of "intentional injury" rather than rape, as non-consensual same-sex sexual conduct was not defined as a sexual offense.

In November 2015 Xinhua reported that the criminal code was amended to include the sexual assault and rape of men, citing the above case. In addition, sex with underaged (defined as under 14 years of age) prostitutes was reclassified as rape, which may lead to the death sentence.

See also

• Yan Xiaoling – Fan Yanqiong case