title: Sex Offenses Against Minors in China: An Empirical Comparison.
abstract: In recent years, due to a number of notorious sex offense cases against minors, a new punitive public attitude emerged in China and pressed for harsher crackdown and punishment against sex offenders. In particular, an "engagement in prostitution with a minor" law (Article 360 of the Criminal Law) was targeted as "unjust" based on the belief that offenders of such crimes often received "lenient" punishment, and many called for its abolition. In this study, based on 440 adjudicated sex offense cases, we examine potential differences across three sex offenses (including rape, child molestation, and engagement in prostitution with a minor) in the demographics of defendants and victims, offending characteristics, and trials and sentences of convicted offenders. Our empirical inquiry pointed to the unique nature of engagement in prostitution with a minor. Offenders of such crimes seemingly carried a different profile, compared with offenders of the other two sex crimes. Moreover, our data casted some doubt on the "lenient" punishment received by offenders of engagement in prostitution with a minor. Policy implications were also drawn based on our findings.
authors.affiliation: 1 Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: 2 Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: 1 Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Siwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057237:Criminals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011902:Rape / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011477:Sex Work / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; empirical comparison; engagement in prostitution with a minor; sex offenses against minors