Government to Amend Juvenile Delinquency Law in Light of Violent Bullying Incidents
Late last month, the 14th session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) standing committee held a group meeting to examine proposed revisions to laws concerning the protection of minors, and the prevention of juvenile delinquency.
Incidents of school violence have been declining year by year, however, many problems still remain such as campus safety, inadequate guardianship, incidents of sexual assault perpetrated by minors, and in extreme cases, murder committed by minors.
Just last month in Dalian, a 10-year-old girl was suspected to have been killed by a 13-year-old boy. The authorities stated via Weibo that although the boy was the main suspect in the murder, under Chinese law, he is too young to be held criminally responsible. According to a local investigation, at least three women in the vicinity said that they too had experienced varying degrees of harassment and stalking by the boy.
It appears that authorities are now searching for ways to mitigate a problem that has largely been framed as a private moral issue to be addressed by one’s family. The issue has also not been lost on the general public, as indicated by the surprise popularity of recent Chinese coming-of-age movie Better Days, which was lauded for its bold, unflinching portrayal of school bullying when it hit screens late last month.
To curb bullying in schools, the revised draft amendment to the law on the protection of minors now states that schools are required to:
- Establish a system for preventing and controlling bullying among students and carry out education and training on the prevention and control of student bullying.
- Promptly stop and deal with bullying and notify the parents or other guardians of students who are being bullied or are bullying others.
- Provide students with timely counseling and educational guidance. Parents or guardians of the relevant minors shall also be given necessary family education guidance.
- Cooperate with relevant departments and, according to the nature and severity of the bullying, dole out punishments to those students who bully as determined by the law.
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