Top court highlights fight against trafficking, abuse

China has made significant progress in combating human trafficking and the sexual assault of children over the past four years, the Supreme People's Court said on Thursday.

Between 2013 and 2016, Chinese courts concluded 3,713 cases involving the trafficking of women and children, and 10,782 disputes involving adults sexually assaulting juveniles, the SPC said.

"We've handed down stricter punishments to those found guilty of human trafficking and sexual assault in line with the revised Chinese Criminal Law," said Guan Yingshi, deputy chief judge of the No 1 Criminal Tribual.

Guan gave examples of six cases, including one in which a man named Li Yi, who raped and sexually assaulted 14 girls, was sentenced to death.

Ran Rong, a tribunal judge, said the SPC had asked low-level courts to work with local governments and educational institutes "to prevent juveniles being attacked or harmed".

The top court has implemented a pilot program to promote the prevention of such cases in more than 10 cities nationwide, including in Qingdao, Shandong province, she said.

"We hope to cooperate with police, civil affairs authorities and educational bureaus to speed up the process of dealing with cases involving juveniles," she added.