China Exclusive: Child abuse case ignites calls for better protection of minors

A suspected child abuse case, which resulted in the death of a six-year-old girl, has triggered calls for better protective measures for minors.

According to the Yiwu City Police, in east China's Zhejiang Province, the girl was allegedly beaten to death by her mother during a "family dispute" on Monday.

Police were informed by the Beiyuan Community health center on Monday morning that, despite being transferred to hospital, the girl had died from suspicious injuries.

The child's father claimed to have caused the injuries, however, a preliminary investigation uncovered that the mother had been the abuser.

"The mother confessed but, as she is pregnant, she will remain at home under police surveillance, while the father, a migrant worker in the city, was arrested for deception," said Xia Zhiqiang from the Yiwu police.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case in China.

In 2013, a 22-year-old woman from east China's Nanjing City left her two daughters, aged two and one, at home without care for several months. The children starved to death

Of the 697 child abuse cases released to the media from 2008 to 2013, 74.75 percent were committed by parents, the Beijing Youth Legal Assistance Research Center revealed.

Zhang Yan, a researcher with the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences, said that child abuse within the home was a social issue.

"It is unfortunate that many kids are not even safe at home. This situation is related to a decline in moralistic and ethical values," she said.

Domestic violence lawyer Zhang Zhigang voiced a similar opinion, saying that children have rights within the home setting, and these must be respected and protected.

"In China, legal protection for minors is not enough. We must review the child abuse penalties," he added.

A string of protective measures have already been mapped out, with the promise that the country will try to do more.

Fu Ying, spokesperson with the third session of the 12th National People's Congress, said on Wednesday that China's first bill against domestic violence would be likely tabled for its first reading in August.

She said the draft law on domestic violence illustrated the state's stance: That it is against violence, even within the family unit.

Convicted drug addicts, gamblers, sex offenders and child abusers can be stripped of guardianships by courts since January, 2015.

On Feb. 4, the district court of Tongshan, in Jiangsu Province's Xuzhou City, heard the first of such cases and stripped a couple of parental custody after the father was found to have sexually abused his child and the mother was found guilty of neglect.

It must be stressed that the protection of minors needs cooperation between civil affairs departments, the police as well as the courts and communities, said Chen Lan, head of an NGO for abused children.

She said it was not only the responsibility of families, but society should play its part as the "protection of children is the protection of the future". Endi