3. Strengthening Legal Guarantee for Women's Rights and Interests
Continuing to improve the legal system. Legal protection of women's rights and interests is an integral part of advancing law-based governance. China has established a legal system anchored in the Constitution and centered on the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests, covering over 100 laws and regulations.
The Civil Code was compiled, which includes a Personality Rights section that clarifies the definition of sexual harassment and the responsibilities of employers. Its Marriage and Family section improves mechanisms for the identification and settlement of marital debts, and economic compensation for unpaid domestic work in divorce proceedings.
The Criminal Law has been revised to abolish the crime of "prostitution involving underage girls" and punish such acts as rape, raise the statutory minimum penalty for the crime of child molestation, and introduce harsher punishments for the crime of purchasing abducted and trafficked women. Additionally, the crime of sexual assault by a person with a duty of care has been added to the Criminal Law.
The amended Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests has made more comprehensive and systematic provisions on the system and mechanism for protecting women's rights and interests. China has also formulated the Anti-Domestic Violence Law and created systems of compulsory reporting, admonition, personal safety protection order, and emergent protection.
The revised Law on Land Contract in Rural Areas has improved the legal guarantees for rural women's land rights and interests, ensuring their rightful entitlement to land and corresponding rights. The Law on Rural Collective Economic Organizations has been formulated to provide institutional safeguards ensuring that women do not lose their membership, rights and interests in such organizations due to changes in marital status.
In addition, the Legal Aid Law, the Law on Basic Medical and Health Care and the Promotion of Health, and the Population and Family Planning Law all have provisions for safeguarding women's rights and interests.
A gender equality review mechanism has been established at the national level and across all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. This mechanism conducts assessments of laws and regulations related to women's rights and interests, ensuring that the fundamental national policy of gender equality is implemented in laws and regulations at the source.
Strengthening law enforcement and judicial protection. China has taken resolute actions to combat criminal and illegal acts that infringe upon women's and girls' personal rights. Since 2013, public security agencies have continued to carry out special operations targeting the abduction and trafficking of women and children. By 2024, the number of such cases had decreased by 95 percent compared with 2013.
China has established an inter-departmental cooperation and consultation mechanism against domestic violence, issued guidelines on the implementation of admonitions against domestic violence and personal protection orders, and promulgated judicial interpretations clarifying specific interventions and prevention measures, and forms of evidence for identifying domestic violence.
The systems and measures for preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment have been improved, with the addition of "dispute over liability for damages caused by sexual harassment" as an independent cause of action. To strengthen the protection of the personal rights and interests of girls, China has established a compulsory reporting system for cases of offenses against minors, as well as mechanisms for urging parental care and supervision over minors, for preventing violators from engaging in certain occupations, and for providing one-stop judicial support.
Procuratorates at all levels have registered and handled 3,810 public-interest cases concerning women's rights and interests. Since 2012, legal aid institutions across China have provided legal assistance for women involved in over 4.2 million cases, and free legal consultations for over 20 million women.
Raising public awareness of the rule of law. China continued to formulate and implement the seventh and eighth five-year plans for popularizing legal knowledge, both of which include laws and regulations on protecting women's lawful rights and interests. The country has strengthened law promotion and interpretation efforts, and the NPC Standing Committee has organized press conferences to expound on the principles in formulating and revising the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests and the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, and share their highlights.
Efforts have been made to raise public legal awareness through multiple channels and approaches. Since 2012, articles on protecting women's rights and interests published through the official WeChat account for law popularization have been viewed 91.36 million times, and the annual legal knowledge competition has attracted tens of millions of participants. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions has organized legal awareness activities for female employees for 11 consecutive years, and women's federations at all levels across China have held more than 3.76 million events to raise legal awareness and provide legal services since 2016, with the participation of over 400 million women.
In 2024, courts and procuratorates across the country, in conjunction with women's federations, organized more than 4,200 open day events on safeguarding the rights and interests of women and children and released over 3,800 typical cases. A legal education program for rural women reached more than 86 percent of China's rural areas.
4. Creating an Equal and Harmonious Social Environment
Vigorously promoting the fundamental national policy of gender equality. China has carried out targeted public education on gender equality across multiple dimensions and through multiple channels, promoting this basic national policy in government departments, schools, enterprises, urban and rural communities, and families.
For Party and government leaders, the Implementation of Gender Equality as a Basic National Policy has been compiled as a coursebook and incorporated into the curriculum and teaching plans of Party schools. For students, education on gender equality has been promoted in elementary and high schools, as well as in universities, and integrated into textbook planning and regulatory standards, and guides for related courses. Gender balance is emphasized in textbook illustrations, and excellent female writers have seen greater representation in textbooks, to eliminate gender stereotypes in teaching materials.
For the general public, gender equality has been incorporated into cultural and ethical development in both urban and rural communities, into self-regulations and rules for their residents, and into efforts to cultivate good family ties, values, and traditions. Party members and officials, experts, scholars, and those who work in women's affairs have given talks and lectures, and engaged in public communication on gender equality in approachable and popular forms, enabling the public to understand this basic national policy and apply it in their daily lives.
Strengthening the awareness of gender equality in the media. The Advertising Law and other relevant laws, as well as the Outline of Women's Development in China, all stipulate regulations regarding gender equality assessment and supervision in the media, prohibiting reports or advertisements with contents that disparage, undermine, or infringe upon women's dignity.
Gender equality reviews have been conducted throughout the script development, production, screening, and distribution of films and TV programs. News outlets have issued lists of prohibited and offensive terms to eliminate discriminatory expressions in news reports. Media organizations have implemented a social responsibility reporting system and upheld the professional ethic of safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of women, children, the elderly, and the disabled and protecting their physical and mental health.
The stories of women role models have been told through media coverage, special releases and events in recognition of their contribution, showcasing patriotism, devotion to the people, perseverance and progress in the face of challenges, and commitment to virtue and good deeds. Gender equality has now become a widely accepted social norm.
Creating a clean cyberspace. China has issued judicial interpretations, released exemplary cases, and carried out special operations to combat fraud, abduction, trafficking, rape, and other crimes against women and children committed or facilitated through online channels. Offenses that infringe upon women's personality rights, such as the illegal disclosure of personal information, defamation, and malicious online abuse, are strictly punished. Online platforms have taken on greater responsibility by addressing illegal and inappropriate content, including removing articles and short videos that advocate a preference for sons over daughters or exaggerate family disputes.
China has increased the supply of high-quality online content. Special campaigns have been launched to introduce new media products showcasing women in the new era and their commitment to the country, such as the theme song Blooms of China, the women's federation promotional video Together, and the family values promotional video I Love My Family. These products have reached hundreds of millions of women and families, and facilitated new progress in providing theoretical and political guidance to women.
Efforts have also been made to improve the digital literacy of the general public, foster responsible internet usage among women, tell engaging stories of China and Chinese women, spread mainstream values, and promote positive energy online.
(Source: SCIO White Paper China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era)
Editor: Cui Rui
