Male rape: The crime that doesn't legally exist

Both Yi and Ding called for a revision of the current law and suggested that the legislators should widen the legal interpretation of rape.

In Western countries, both men and women are protected by the legislation pertaining to rape, so cases can be brought to court irrespective of the gender of the victim or the offender. The aim is to protect every citizen's legal and sexual rights. In China, however, the law only recognizes the offense as rape if the victim is female.

According to Yi, in the special administrative regions of Macao and Hong Kong, male rape is recognized as a crime, and the law provides specific punishments for the offense.

"Such a crime produces a negative effect on society, so it's wrong to give offenders administrative detention or just tell them off and let them go. It's necessary to protect peoples' sexual rights," he said.

Ding urged mainland legislators to put revision of the law on the agenda because of the increasing frequency of cases of male rape. "Previously, the offense was believed to be rare because only a few cases were reported in the media, so the legislators didn't realize how serious the situation was. Also, traditionally, we thought women were the most vulnerable group, so we didn't think it necessary to legislate against male rape," he said.

"But now we can't avoid this thorny problem. If we continue to ignore it, infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, may become even more serious issues. Moreover, some people may deliberately use this legal loophole to go on the offensive but avoid punishment," he said.

He urged legislators to push for a quick revision of the legislation to ensure that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, and to reduce the number of offenses. Lawmakers should also consider the best ways of protecting the privacy of victims, both as a matter of common decency and to help the police to collect evidence.

Pu Xingzu, an expert specializing in legislative affairs at Fudan University, said he is in favor of revising the law relating to rape, but stressed that the quality of legislation is more important than the number of laws passed or the speed at which they are enacted.

"Legislators must conduct sufficient research before laws are revised, and they must always ensure that the list of laws to be amended accords with public necessity," he said.

He confirmed that the subject of revising the law pertaining to male-on-male sexual assaults and rape has already been discussed by China's top legislative body, "but it may have to wait until other revisions, such as those to laws designed to further prevent and reduce air pollution, have been dealt with.

"We are certainly not indifferent to the problem, but priority must be given to legislation that addresses problems that affect the entire population and the widest public interest.

"Conducting research into sexual offenses is a difficult task because it requires a strong legal background and some knowledge of psychology. So it will take a great deal of time and energy. In addition, we must ensure that the law can be applied successfully after the revision, or those efforts will be in vain. Although the law relating to rape will take time to revise, the more research we conduct, the better the quality of the legislation will be."

Contact the writer atcaoyin@chinadaily.com.cn