Children of migrant workers play games in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. Experts say children such as these are at greater risk of sexual assault, and have called on parents to provide effective supervision to safeguard youngsters. （Li Ruichang/for China Daily）
Between 2010 and the end of 2013, prosecutors charged 8,069 people in 7,963 cases of "obscene behavior", including molestation and indecent exposure. During the same period, 255 people were charged in 150 cases of "sexual abuse" - rape - of a minor.
Tong Lihua, director of the Beijing Minors' Legal Aid and Research Center, said that in recent years the influence of unhealthy and obscene online videos has distorted some people's values, and they have sought out virgin girls to satisfy their abnormal desires.
"A lack of awareness among minors, parental negligence, and flawed safety management in schools and society in general have all contributed to the high incidence of such cases," he said.
According to Zhang Xiangjun, director of the procuratorate's prosecution department, few parents are aware of the importance of teaching young children about sexual issues, preferring to wait until the child is 14 or 15.
In addition, primary and junior schools usually provide physical health classes for minors, rather than sex education, which means many children lack awareness of how to protect themselves.
"Because of the lack of sex education, some juveniles may not realize they have been sexually assaulted, and even if they realize that a crime has been committed, some don't even dare report it to the police," he said.
Tong said that most of the victims were younger than 14 and were the children of migrant workers and single-parent families.
He said the perpetrators are usually acquainted with their victims - for example, neighbors, family friends, stepfathers or teachers - and many cases involve repeated abuse over long periods of time.
Schools failing students
According to Shi Weizhong, a senior official at the procuratorate's prosecution department, loopholes in school safety are also to blame. Some schools failed to conduct regular patrols and didn't equip dormitories with safety features, such as alarms and intercoms, thereby providing opportunities for the perpetrators.
"Many sexual assaults occurred in classrooms and dormitories. Some even happened at the teacher's desk or in their offices," he said.
One such case is said to have occurred in November, when a sports teacher at a primary school in the capital allegedly molested two 7-year-old girls during gym classes.
The prosecution department claims that while the rest of the class was exercising, the teacher invited the girls into the equipment storeroom and made them stand with their hands against the wall while he undressed them and then sexually abused them.
